I 


The  Religious  Development  of  the 
Negro  in  Virginia 


A  DISSERTATION 

Submitted  to  the  Faculty  of  the  University  of  Virginia  in, Partial 

Fulfillment  of  the  Requirements  for  the  Degree 

of  Doctor  of  Philosophy 


BY 

JOSEPH  B.  EARNEST,  Jr.,  M.  A. 
Norfolk,   Va. 


THE  MICHIE  COMPANY,  PRINTERS 

Charlottesville,  Virginia 

1914 


COPYRIGHT,    1914, 

BY 
JOSEPH  B.  EARNEST,  JR. 


PREFACE. 

Virginia  is  one  of  the  richest  fields  for  historical  research;  the 
Negro  question  is  one  of  the  most  pressing  of  our  day ;  the  re 
ligious  is  the  most  neglected  phase  of  the  great  Negro  problem. 
It  could  not  seem  strange  therefore  that  this  study  should  be  un 
dertaken  in  the  face  of  such  a  challenge. 

It  is  a  fact,  not  without  significance,  that  of  the  four  disserta 
tions  issued  from  the  School  of  History  at  the  University  of  Vir 
ginia,  two  have  had  as  their  subject,  the  Negro.  To  the  influence 
of  Professor  R.  H.  Dabney,  we  ascribe  this  interest.  Dr.  J.  P. 
McConnell's  dissertation,  "Negroes  and  Their  Treatment  in  Vir 
ginia  from  1865  to  1867,"  U.  Va.  1905,  is  an  intensive  study  of 
a  strategic  period  in  the  life  of  the  Negro,  and  embraces  legal, 
political,  social  and  religious  considerations.  This  present  dis 
sertation,  in  contradistinction  to  his,  is  an  intensive  study  of  one 
phase  of  the  Negro's  life  in  Virginia — the  religious — from  the 
date  of  the  landing  in  America  up  to  the  present.  The  effort  is 
conscientiously  made  to  hew  to  that  mark.  .Apologists  and  ex- 
coriators  might  shout  the  praises  of  the  Negro  or  hurl  at  him 
verbal  damnation,  yet  Time  will  record  the  amelioration  of  his 
religious  condition  while  in  America,  as  one  of  the  proudest 
achievements  of  Anglo-Saxon  Missionary  energies.  In  the 
South,  Virginia  has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  this  transformation 
or  spirit-worshipping  savages  into  worshippers  of  one  God,  men 
and  women  who  sometimes  show  characters  as  deeply  devout 
and  conscientious  as  can  be  found  anywhere.  Just  what  factors 
and  influences  brought  this  about  I  shall  endeavor  to  indicate. 

In  this  study  nearly  a  thousand  letters  have  been  sent  to  prom 
inent  white  citizens,  prominent  Negro  citizens  and  Negro  preach 
ers.  The  endeavor  was  to  secure  evidence  from  every  part  of 
the  State.  About  .seventy-five  per  cent  of  these  letters  were 
carefully  answered,  which  might  be  interpreted  to  indicate  the 
sensitive  state  of  public  opinion  on  the  subject.  Of  course,  no 
one  could  expect  that  100  per  cent  of  such  letters  would  be  an 
swered.  Human  nature  is  still  human.  Even  in  private  conver- 


292741 


PREFACE: 

sation  a  few  Negroes  evidently  invoked  the  principle,  "Doa*~  t-jh 
the  white  man  nuffin ;"  and  in  spite  of  an  expression  of  n\y  in 
tention  to  strive  to  deal  fairly  with  their  much  maligned  race 
a  few  could  not  be  convinced.  Several  white  men  answering  the 
letters  sent  to  them  frankly  confessed  that  they  knew  absolutely 
nothing  about  the  religious  life  of  the  Negro  and  dared  not  ven 
ture  any  opinion.  If  these  letters  served  to  stir  the  thoughtful  of 
either  race  to  consider  the  tremendous  significance  of  the  prob 
lems  presented,  they  will  not  have  been  sent  in  vain. 

The  more  thoughtful  elements  in  both  races  are  anxious  for 
some  adjustment  in  the  near  future  by  which  the  charity  of  the 
more  highly  developed  race  can  aid  in  the  uplift  of  the  more  un 
fortunate  race.  That  a  religious  oversight  was  the  fixed  policv 
up  to  the  close  of  the  War  of  Secession,  I  believe  I  shall  be 
able  to  demonstrate.  It  is  also  true  that  the  history  of  the  years 
since  then  exhibit  the  struggles,  both  successful  and  unsuccess 
ful,  of  a  goodly  number  of  dark-skinned  men,  single-handed, 
often  burdened  by  false  friends,  patiently  wrestling  with  the 
problem  of  racial  uplift  in  things  religious. 

No  person  who  has  undertaken  to  write  a  monograph  has  had 
better  reason  to  be  thankful  to  friends  for  invaluable  advice 
and  aid  in  collecting  data,  than  I  have.  It  almost  seems  to  be 
their  work  instead. of  my  own.  Dr.  R.  H.  Dabney,  professor  of 
History  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  suggested  the  subject  and 
has  very  frequently  counseled  me  with  his  mature  judgment.  I 
acknowledge  to  him,  first  of  all,  my  debt  of  gratitude.  Among 
others  who  have  laid  upon  me  by  their  kindnesses,  obligations 
which  I  fear  I  shall  never  be  able  to  repay  fully,  are  Mr.  John  S. 
Patton,  Librarian,  and  Miss  M.  L.  Dinwiddie,  Assistant  Libra 
rian,  University  of  Virginia ;  Mr.  Earl  G.  Swem,  Assistant  Libra 
rian,  and  Dr.  H.  G.  Eckenrode,  Archivist,  Virginia  State  Li 
brary;  Mr.  C.  H.  Ryland,  Secretary  and  Librarian,  Richmond 
College,  and  Librarian  of  Baptist  Historical  Collection,  Rich 
mond,  Va. ;  Messrs.  J.  G.  and  Hugh  L.  Morrison,  Chief  As 
sistants  in  Reading  Room,  Library  of  Congress ;  Mr.  Wm.  An 
thony  Aery,  Press  Service  Manager,  and  Misses  Leonora  E. 
Herron  and  Mary  E.  Lane,  Librarian  and  Assistant  Librarian, 
Hampton  Normal  and  Industrial  School ;  Mr.  Edward  C.  Wil 
son,  principal  of  Friends'  School,  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  Mr. 


PREFACE  b 

Kirk  Brown,  Keeper  of  Friends'  Records  at  Park  Avenue  Meet 
ing  House,  Baltimore,  Aid. 

It  would  constitute  a  book  in  itself  should  all  the  individuals, 
white  and  colored,  be  enumerated  that  have  so  freely  given  time 
and  information  to  this  work.  I  am  deeply  grateful  to  these 
many  benefactors.  It  would  be  impossible,  however,  to  fail  to 
mention  the  names  of  the  following  gentlemen,  for  signal  serv 
ices  rendered  me :  Dr.  Lyon  G.  Tyler,  President  William  and 
Mary  College,  and  Rev.  E.  Ruffin  Jones,  Rector  of  Bruton  Par 
ish  Church,  Williamsburg,  Va.,  Dr.  C.  H.  Hovey,  President  Vir 
ginia  Union  University,  Richmond,  Va.,  and  Hon.  Rosewell 
Page,  Hanover  County,  Va. 

It  seems  that  it  is  not  the  custom  to  dedicate  such  studies  as 
this  to  anyone.  Were  it  the  custom,  this  would  unhesitatingly 
be  dedicated  to  my  mother,  whose  tenderest  love  and  unbounded 
patience  early  taught  me  to  see  the  good  in  everybody  and  in 
everything. 

J.  B.  E.,  JR. 
University,  Va., 

June  17,  1914. 


The  Religious  Development  of  the  Negro 
in  Virginia. 


INTRODUCTION. 

If  the  Negro  is  more  susceptible  to  any  other  influence  than 
to  religious  fervor  we  fail  to  know  it.  Whether  propitiating  the 
anger  of  enraged  spirits  in  his  African  home,  or  in  the  ecstasy 
of  narrating  in  America  the  details  of  a  harrowing  religious  ex 
perience  at  the  time  of  his  conversion,  he  is  instinctively  religious. 
Some  think  he  is  too  religious ;  others  that  he  is  not  religious 
at  all ;  we  believe  that  he  is  religious  and  is  improving  relig 
iously. 

It  seems  that  an  average  Negro  is  much  sought  after  in  this 
day  for  purposes  of  study.  Where  is  an  average  Negro?  One 
might  point  out  a  man  like  Major  R.  R.  Moton,  commandant  at 
Hampton  Normal  School,  and  the  world  acknowledges  his  worth, 
yet  he  is  not  average;  he  is  nearer  the  ideal  Negro.  One  sees 
elsewhere  ragged,  besotted,  cursing  black  men  bringing  dis 
grace  upon  themselves  and  their  race.  Neither  are  they  aver 
age;  they  are  below  normal.  Objections  are  raised  to  individ 
ual  characters  as  fast  as  they  are  presented.  One  is  uppish  after 
an  education  in  the  North ;  another  is  too  backward  for  refusing 
an  education  in  the  South :  one  is  too  temperate  to  be  average ; 
another  is  too  intemperate :  one  is  too  pert,  another  is  too  sub 
missive  :  one  is  too  ambitious,  another  lacks  ambition.  This 
bewildering  list  of  pro's  and  con's  could  be  prolonged  indefi 
nitely,  since  we  insist  not  only  upon  the  possession  of  many 
qualities  to  satisfy  ourselves,  but  also  upon  the  fact  that  an 
average  Negro  from  our  viewpoint  need  not  necessarily  be  an 
average  Negro  from  the  Negro's  viewpoint.  It  is  likely  that 
our  estimates  will  differ.  Whom  shall  we  have  in  mind  as  we 
trace  the  Negro's  religious  development  in  Virginia?  It  would 
have  been  delightful  if  in  this  study  an  average  Negro  could 


8  REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

have  been  selected  in  each  decade  and  by  simply  watching-  him 
move  and  have  his  being,  we  could  have  thus  traced  the  relig 
ious  development  in  Virginia  from  the  arrival  of  the  Dutch  ship 
to  this  present  day.  But  the  world  is  all  different  from  such  a 
theoretical  dream,  and  in  absence  of  an  average  Xegro  we  shall 
strive  to  indicate  the  race's  religious  evolution  in  Virginia. 

Very  briefly,  we  must  see  what  the  Negro  brought  into  Amer 
ica  religiously  before  we  can  appreciate  this  development.  There 
are  no  contemporary  records  of  what  the  Negro  did  religiously 
before  1619.  We  have  to  rely  on  observations  of  travelers  of  a 
later  day  and  reports  of  students  and  missionaries  who  have  lived 
among  them.  Even  though  R.  E.  Dennett  has  written  a  book 
entitled  "At  the  Back  of  the  Black  Man's  Mind,"  we  can  be  very 
sure  that  no  white  man  has  ever  known  what  is,  or  was,  back 
there.  It  is  one  of  the  inscrutable  things  of  the  universe.  We 
can  imagine,  surmise,  guess,  but  knowledge  on  that  subject  is 
forbidden  to  the  white  man.  That  there  was  something  in  the 
back  of  the  black  man's  mind  religiously  before  he  came  to 
America  seems  likely  to  be  true.  From  what  we  can  gather,  it 
was  a  very  disappointing  something — yet  it  was  something.  The 
surest  thing  about  their  religion  was  the  fact  that  it  was  a  very 
low  form,  if,  indeed,  it  could  be  called  a  religion  at  all.  At  a 
much  later  day,  Wilson  wrote:  "The  prevailing  notion  seems 
to  be  that  God,  after  having  made  the  world  and  filled  it  with 
inhabitants,  retired  to  some  remote  corner  of  the  universe,  and 
has  allowed  the  affairs  of  the  world  to  come  under  the  control 
of  evil  spirits ;  and  hence  the  only  religious  worship  that  is  ever 
performed  is  directed  to  these  spirits,  the  object  of  which  is  to 
court  their  favor,  or  to  ward  off  the  evil  effects  of  their  dis 
pleasure." 

In  short,  their  religion  began  and  ended  in  a  belief  in  spirits. 
Animistic,  oppressed,  infinitely  crude,  the  poor  savages  were 
subjects  by  night  and  day,  to  a  host  of  good  and  evil  spirits.  If 
drowned  in  the  river,  one's  family  believed  that  it  was  merely  a 
case  in  which  the  water  spirit  was  victorious ;  if  eaten  by  a  wild 
beast,  it  was  still  the  working  of  an  evil  spirit;  if  struck  by  light 
ning,  the  same;  if  in  a  dream,  the  realization  of  a  seeming  dual 
ity  of  one's  personality  was  positively  convincing  that  the  spirit 
had  gone  hunting,  fishing  or  what  not.  This  second  personality, 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO 

this  second  in-dwelling  spirit,  this  second  part  of  one's  individ 
uality  was  called  the  "kra."  Man's  disembodied,  ghost-like 
spirit,  wandering  after  death  was  called  "srahman." 

The  despotism  of  such  a  system  was  almost  inconceivably  se 
vere.  It  was  inevitable  that  such  beliefs  would  give  opportunity 
for  some  charlatan  of  a  bolder  nature  than  that  of  his  fellows 
to  claim  to  be  able  to  influence,  tame,  or  direct  the  spirits 
Hence,  witch  doctors,  "voodoo"  doctors,  "conjur"  doctors, 
priests  or  "medicine  men"  arose.  "White  art"  was  the  name 
given  the  protective  achievement  which  consisted  in  placating 
injured  spirits  and  protecting  oneself  against  evil  spirits  by  wear 
ing  "gree-gree"  bags,  amulets  and  charms,  that  were  sold  by 
the  witch  doctors  and  were  eagerly  bought  and  worn  by  the 
ignorant  natives.  The  charlatans  grew  richer  in  purse ;  trie 
people,  bankrupt  in  purse  and  religion.  But  not  only  did  the 
African  on  his  native  heath  have  to  contend  with  evil  spirits  in 
their  normal  nefarious  workings ;  he  also  had  to  contend  with 
evil  spirits  which,  through  the  influence  of  witch  doctors,  might 
'be  directed  at  one.  "Black  art"  or  the  setting  of  evil  spirits  on 
a  man  became  a  tremendous  business.  Witchcraft  in  its  most  re 
volting  forms  flourished  under  these  conditions.  Death  was  no 
longer  ascribed  to  natural  causes,  but  was  attributed  solely  to 
spirits.  Under  such  conditions  a  death  was  an  especially  serious 
event  in  a  community,  since  none  was  spared  from  the  inexo 
rable  workings  of  a  witchcraft  law  which  required  the  sacrifice 
of  the  life  of  the  man  said  by  the  witch  doctor  to  be  responsible 
for  that  death.  Thousands  of  innocents  must  have  given  up  their 
lives  because  of  this  systematized,  criminal,  religious  belief. 

The  saddest  feature  of  their  religion,  however,  was  the  fact 
that  it  made  no  pretence  of  dealing  with  the  relationship  of  man 
to  man.  It  was  a  vertical  religion,  i.  e.  a  religion  between  man 
and  the  spirits  above,  in  contradistinction  to  horizontal  religions, 
which  endeavor  to  make  man's  conduct  toward  his  fellow  man 
the  criterion  of  his  love  for  God.  "Their  religion  is  not  in  any 
way  allied  with  moral  ideas,"  says  Ellis,  "and  the  only  sins  prop 
erly  speaking,  are,  first,  insults  offered  to  the  gods ;  secondly, 
neglect  of  the  gods."  J.  A.  Tillinghast  in  a  luminous  summary 
concerning  conditions  among  Africans  in  Africa,  said :  "Even 
within  the  village  they  thought  little  of  destroying  the  sick  or 


10  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

useless,  and  could  not  comprehend  sentiments  of  compassion. 
A  large  portion  of  their  population  was  enslaved.  Polygamy 
prevailed,  women  were  bought  and  sold,  and  chastity  was  valued 
only  as  a  salable  commodity.  Parental  and  filial  affection,  with 
the  exception  of  that  between  mother  and  son,  was  weak  and 
transient.  Social  morality  was  not  supported  by  religion,  the 
gods  being  supposed  to  have  no  interest  in  the  conduct  of  men 
toward  men.  Their  religion  was  a  dark  and  cruel  fetichism/' 
With  such  religious  endowment  well  might  our  forefathers  have 
referred  to  those  natives  imported  into  Virginia  as  benighted, 
superstitious  Africans.  , 

One  or  more  very  brilliant  Negro  writers  of  the  present  day 
seem  to  lay  the  whole  burden  of  the  Negro's  present  sins  on  the 
back  of  the  white  man  because  of  the  Negro's  experiences  dur 
ing  slavery.  This  seems  to  us  to  be  very  unfair.  We  grant  that 
slavery  had  its  vices,  but  it  also  had  .its  virtues,  and  prominent 
among  its  virtues  in  Virginia,  was  the  care  exercised  in  training 
the  Negro  religiously.  We  believe  that  the  Negro  is  and  has 
been  in  a  process  of  religious  evolution,  which  opinion  is  in 
entire  contradistinction  to  those  authors  who  would  make  us 
believe  that  Africa  was  a  Garden  of  Eden,  and  the  Fall  and  the 
consequent  myriads  of  sins  came  after  the  white  slave  dealer, 
the  Serpent,  had  beguiled  the  Negro  into  Christian  America  there 
to  partake  of  the  fruit  of  a  tree  of  systematized  labor  and  Chris 
tian  love.  With  far  greater  appreciation  for  kindnesses  re 
ceived  ;  in  a  far  sweeter  spirit  of  charity ;  and  with  far  greater 
praise  for  her  race,  Phyllis  Wheatley,  a  slave  freed  by  her  mas 
ter,  wrote 

"  'Twas  mercy  brought  me  from  my  pagan  land, 
Taught  my  benighted  soul  to  understand 
That  there's  a   God — that  there's  a   Savior  too: 
Once  I  redemption  neither  sought  nor  knew. 
Some  view  our  sable  race  with  scornful  eye 
'Their  color  is  a  diabolic  dye' 
Remember  Christians,  Negroes  black  as  Cain, 
May  be  refined  and  join  the  angelic  train." 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE    NEGRO  11 

This  introduction  was  based  on  the  following  accounts  of  life 
in  Africa : 

Atlanta  University  Publication,  No.  8,  "The  Negro  Church," 
edited  by  W.  E.  Burghardt  Du  Bois. 

Bosnian,  J.,  "Description  of  the  Coast  of  Guinea." 

Dowd,  J.,  "The  Negro  Races — A  Sociological  Study." 

Du  Chaillu,  Paul,  "Explorations  and  Adventures  in  Equato 
rial  Africa." 

Ellis,  A.  B.,  "The  Tshi-Speaking  Peoples  of  the  Gold  Coast 
of  West  Africa." 

Ellis,  A.  B.,  "The  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples  of  the  Slave  Coast  of 
West  Africa." 

Ellis,  A.  B.,  "The  Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples  of  the  Slave 
Coast  of  West  Africa." 

Ellis,  A.  B.,  "A  History  of  the  Gold  Coast  of  West  Africa." 

Kinglsey,  Mary,  "Travels  in  West  Africa." 

Kingsley,  Mary,  "West  African  Studies." 

Stanley,  H.  M.,  "Through  the  Dark  Continent." 

Tillinghast,  J.  A.,  "The  Negro  in  Africa  and  America." 

Wheatley,  Phyllis,  "Her  Poems." 

Williams,  Geo.  W.,  "History  of  the  Negro  Race  in  America." 


12  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 


, 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 


It  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  among  later  historians  that 
Negroes  were  first  brought  to  America  during  the  summer  of 
1619.  The  introduction  of  another  race  caused  new  complica 
tions — new  adjustments — and  these  are  important  considera 
tions  in  the  life  of  a  newly  planted  colony.  We  can  postulate 
at  least  three  things  concerning  these  newest  arrivals.  In  the 
first  place,  they  had  to  be  set  to  work,  and  this  was  not  the 
easiest  problem  in  the  world,  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that 
the  Negroes  usually  imported  were  densely  ignorant,  frequently 
inordinately  lazy,  and  all  had  to  learn  the  English  language  or 
be  instructed  by  signs  until  they  knew  how  to  understand  verbal 
orders ;  in  the  next  place,  the  Negro  was  taken  into  the  colony 
by  the  whites  solely  for  the  purpose  of  profiting  by  his  labor, 
and  not  for  social  purposes ;  in  the  last  place,  the  early  inhab 
itants  of  this  colony  had  a  busy  time  fighting  Indians,  clearing 
land,  tilling  soil,  and  trying  to  escape  the  ravages  of  disease, 
thus  leaving  a  limited  time  for  the  conversion  of  the  savages 
from  Africa. 

The  sculptor  who  would  chisel  an  inscription  demands  and 
prepares  a  suitable  surface  for  his  work.  If  he  is  to  chisel  a 
new  inscription  on  an  old  monument,  he  must  first  remove  the 
old  inscription.  It  is  hard  enough  to  build  on  a  good  founda 
tion,  but  when  debris  is  to  be  removed  and  a  new  foundation 
placed,  the  labor  is  doubly  hard.  If  the  Negro  had  known  noth 
ing,  he  could  have  been  taught  much  easier  than  was  possible 
under  the  existing  circumstances.  It  is  certain  that  the  Negro 
came  to  America  with  his  mind  reeking  with  gross  superstitions, 
depravity,  and  ignorance  so  profound,  that  he  clung  to  these 
while  facing  the  inevitable,  with  an  enthusiasm  worthy  of  a 
zealot.  Their  barbarous  natures,  moral  degradation  and  fantas 
tic  beliefs  were  already  deeply  chiseled  into  the  tables  of  their 
hearts.  For  the  reception  of  a  holy  inscription  such  a  worthless 
foundation  had  to  be  removed  before  a  Christian  foundation 
could  be  laid.  The  transition  from  a  belief  in  multitudinous 
spirits  to  a  belief  in  a  pure  monotheism  was  a  mental  ascent 
which  even  the  most  intellectual  would  have  found  difficult.  To 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO  13 

have  taken  the  untrained,  unrestrained,  sensual  savage  from 
Africa,  and  to  have  labored  with  him  until  he  was  made  into  a 
self-controlled,  virtuous,  prayer-loving  Christian,  was  a  task 
which  might  well  have  called  for  the  supremest  effort  of  the 
Christian  men  and  women  of  Colonial  Virginia.  We  need  not 
be  surprised  that  the  hearts  of  the  early  Colonists  (even  those 
who  were  especially  interested  in  Christianizing  the  Negro)  grew 
faint  at  the  prospect  before  them. 

It  was  not  alone  because  of  the  stupendous  labor  involved 
that  the  colonists  hesitated  to  Christianize  the  Negroes  during 
the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  a  matter  far  more  serious;  Let 
us  whisper  it  gently  even  at  this  remote  day — it  was  because  the 
opinion  was  current  that  the  negro  was  a  beast.  This  belief 
was  in  evidence  certainly  up  to  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century  and  in  all  likelihood  extended  into  the  eighteenth.1  Not 
only  in  America,  but  in  England  this  notion  had  weight.  It 
seems  bitterly  cruel  to  us  now  to  think  of  such  a  state  of  public 
opinion,  whether  it  was  held  by  only  a  few  or  by  a  majority  of 
the  colonists.  The  actions  of  some  of  the  worst  slaves  imported 
probably  gave  some  grounds  to  substantiate  the  vagaries  of  the 
upholders  of  such  a  theory.  That  the  Negro  was  regarded  by 
some  colonists  as  only  a  little  above  the  monkey  is  almost  cer 
tainly  true.  A  reflection  of  this  is  seen  in  the  eagerness  and 
seriousness  with  which  Morgan  Godwyn  argues  that  the  Negro 
is  man :  "Methinks  that  the  consideration  of  the  shape  and  fig 
ure  of  our  Negroes  Bodies,  their  Limbs  and  Members,  their 
Voice  and  Countenance  in  all  things  according  with*  other  Men's ; 
together  with  their  Risibility  and  Discourse  (man's  peculiar  Fac 
ulties)  should  be  sufficient  conviction."  2 


1.  A  vile  book  entitled  "The  Negro  is  a  Beast"  was  published  as 
late  as  1896. 

Montesquieu  also  said:  "These  creatures  are  so  black  and  their 
noses  so  flat,  it  is  impossible  to  compassionate  them.  It  is  difficult 
of  belief  that  a  wise  and  good  Greater  should  have  placed  a  soul, 
much  less  a  worthy  soul,  in  such  black,  ugly  bodies..  ..  It  is  not  pos 
sible  we  should  regard  these  creatures  as  men,  for  so  we  make  our 
selves  no  Christians."  — quoted  on  pp.  151,  152  "Travels  in  the  Con 
federation"  (1783-1784).  From  the  German  of  Johann  David 
Schoepf.  Tr.  &  ed.  by  Alfred  J.  Morrison. 

2.  Godwyn's  Negro's  and  Indians  Advocate,  p.  13. 


14  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

It  so  happened  that  Godwyn  :{  dealt  principally  with  the  Bar- 
badoes,  but  these  islands  were  our  neighbors  in  those  days.  In 
the  seventeenth  century  our  histories  reveal  many  points  in  com 
mon.  One  lady  of  consecrated  character  living  in  those  islands 
expressed  to  Godwyn  her  opinion  that  he  might  as  well  have  bap 
tized  puppies  as  baptize  the  Negroes.4  Another  remarked  after 
the  baptism  of  one  of  her  slaves  by  Godwyn  that  the  baptism  of 
her  black  bitch  would  have  been  just  as  efficacious  so  far  as 
soul-saving  was  concerned.  Mulattoes  were  baptized  frequently. 
Perhaps  the  white  part  was  considered  worth  saving!  Negroes 
were  not  even  permitted  to  come  near  religious  exercises  as  they 
were  deemed  beyond  the  pale  and  could  not  be  expected  to  share 
the  joys  of  the  Christian  life,  or  undertake  its  responsibilities. 
The  Islanders  argued  that  as  long  as  the  slaves  were  not  bap 
tized  God  required'  nothing  of  them,  and  the  administration  of 
baptismal  rites  merely  tempted  God  and  unnecessarily  exposed 
the  baptized  to  the  horrors  of  eternal  damnation  to  which  their 
certain  failure  to  live  upright,  Christian  lives  must  inevitably 


3.  (1)    The    two    phamplets    written    by    Godwyn    have    s'uch    inter 
esting  titles,  we  shall  quote  them  in  full.  "The   Negro's  and  Indians 
Advocate,    Suing    for    their    Admission    into    the    Church:    or    a    Per 
suasive  to  the  Instructing  and  Baptizing  of  the  Negro's  and  Indians 
in   our   Plantations,   Showing  That  as   the   Compliance  therewith   can 
prejudice  no  Man's  just  Interest;  So  the  Wilful  Neglecting  and  Op 
posing  of  it,  is  no  less  than  a  manifest  Apostacy  from  the  Christian 
Faith.     To  which  is  added  a  brief  Account  of  Religion  in  Virginia. 
By  Morgan   Godwyn   Sometime   St.   of   Ch.   Ch.   Oxon.     Judges   19:30 
Acts  4:20.     "If  we  must  answer  for  our  idle  words,  how  much  more 
for  our  idle  silence?"     St.  Augustine.     London,   Printed  for  the  Au 
thor,  by  J.  D.  and  are  to  be  sold  by  most  booksellers.     1680." 

(2)  "A  Supplement  to  the  Negros  &  Indians  Advocate;  or,  Some 
further  Considerations  and  proposals  for  the  effectual  and  speedy 
carrying  on  of  the  Negro's  Christianity  in  our  Plantations  (notwith 
standing  the  late  pretended  Impossibilities)  without  any  prejudice  to 
their  Owners.  By  M.  G.  a  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England.  St. 
Luke  18,  4  "He  would  not  for  a  while,  but",  etc.  St.  Mat.  21.  24 
"Afterward  he  repented,  and  went.  "Who  made  you  Ministers  of 
the  Gospel  to  the  White  People  only,  and  not  to  the  Tawneys  and 
Blacks  also?  Quakers  Speech  to  the  Ministers  of  Barbadoes  p.  4  of 
Negro's  Advocate.  London  Printed  by  J.  D.  1681." 

4.  See   Godwyn   Negro's  and  Indians  Advocate,  p.  38  f. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OE>   ^HE    NEGRO  15 


consign  them.  It  is  also  true  that  many  masters  opposed  the 
baptism  of  slaves  for  economic  and  precautionary  reasons.  It 
was  feared  that  Christian  slaves  would  by  eliciting  greater  sym 
pathy  make  stronger  demands  on  the  food  and  clothing  supplies 
furnished  by  their  masters,  and  more  important  still,  their  in 
creased  knowledge  might  stir  up  within  their  ranks  violence  suf 
ficiently  grave  to  endanger  the  lives  of  their  owners.5 

The  same  general  opposition  to  the  evangelization  of  the 
Negro  was  prevalent  in  Virginia  as  it  was  in  the  Barbadoes. 
It  was  never  so  intense,  however,  nor  so  widespread.  The  ob 
jection  that  Christians  could  not  be  held  as  slaves  for  life  was 
persistently  urged  to  the  detriment  of  the  baptism  of  the  Ne 
groes.  A  man  was  considered  by  some  a  dullard,  or  worse, 
almost  an  ass,  if  he  dared  to  advocate  the  Christianizing  of 
slaves.6  Wm.  Stevens  Perry,  writing  concerning  the  Society  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  the  Foreign  Plantations  said  : 
"With  such  lack  of  ministers  and  ministrations  ....  the 
late  labors  which  had  been  undertaken  from  time  to  time  in  be 
half  of  the  civilizing  and  Christianizing  of  the  Negroes,  already 
become  numerous  and  brought  within  reach  of  instruction,  had 
wholly  ceased."7  He  then  quoted  Godwyn  who  could  hardly 
expect  very  much  from  the  ministry  of  Virginia  in  that  day  since 
he  claimed  that  they  "also  are  most  miserably  handled  by  their 
Plebeian  Juntos,  the  Vesteries." 

If  this  foregoing  evidence  were  all,  we  might  well  agree  with 
a  statement  in  a  valuable  study,8  edited  by  W.  E.  Burghardt  Du 
Bois,  of  Atlanta  University,  that  "the  most  obvious  reason  for 
the  spread  of  witchcraft  and  persistence  of  heathen  rites  among  : 
negro  slaves  was  the  fact  that  at  first  no  effort  was  made  by 
masters  to  offer  them  anything  better."  But  the  foregoing  evi- 


5.  Bowden's   "History   of   the    Friends,"   p.    190.     Wm.    Edmundson 
accompanied  George  Fox  to  Barbadoes;  and  he  too  reprobated  slav 
ery.     In  1675,  he  mentions  having  "negroes'  meeting  in  families"  and 
that,     "several   meetings    were    settled    on    such    accounts.       He    was 
brought   before    the    Governor   on   a   charge    of  making   the    Negroes 
Christians,   and   would   make   them   rebel." 

6.  See    Morgan    Godwyn — Negro's    &   Indians    Advocate,   p.    172. 

7.  History   of   the   Am.    Episcopal    Church — Perry,    p.    204. 

8.  The  Negro  Church,  p.  6.— Atlanta  Univ.  Publication  No.  8 — 1903. 


16  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

dence  is  not  all.  and  we  can  be  quite  sure  that  Godwyn  in  the 
enthusiasm  of  his  advocacy,  somewhat  exaggerated  the  facts 
as  far  as  Virginia  is  concerned.  Another  prominent  Xegro,  the 
historian  Williams,  has  said:  "In  a  moral  and  religious  sense, 
the  slaves  of  the  colony  of  Virginia  received  little  or  no  at 
tention  from  the  Christian  Church The  'white  Chris 
tians'  hated  the  Negro,  and  the  Church  bestowed  upon  him  a 
most  bountiful  amount  of  neglect."9  Fortunately,  for  the  honor 
of  Virginians,  these  quotations  are  only  partly  true.  These 
brilliant  Negroes  failed  to  look  deep  enough  into  the  records  of 
our  colonial  history;  or  if  they  looked,  failed  to  present  the  evi 
dence  which  in  its  cumulative  effect  certainly  offsets  much  of  this 
aforestated  seeming  neglect. 

In  a  short  time  after  the  importation  of  the  first  Negroes  there 
are  conclusive  bits  of  evidence  to  substantiate  the  fact  that  the 
conscience  of  at  least  one  "white  Christian"  was  stirred  on  the 
subject  of  the  salvation  of  the  blacks.  And  let  us  be  reminded 
that  this  was,  at  least,  fifty-five  years  before  Morgan  Godwyn 
wrote  his  two  pamphlets.  In  "A  List  of  Names ;  of  the  Liv 
ing  in  Virginia  February  the  16,  1623,"  we  find  among  others 
following  that  of  Captain  William  Tucker,  the  names  of  An 
thony  and  Issabella,  Negroes.10  Under  the  caption,  "Musters 
of  the  Inhabitants  in  Virginia  162  4/5,"  we  find  in  the  lists  of 
names  for  Elizabeth  City  County,  "The  corporation  of  Eliza 
beth  Cittie,"  these  interesting  entries, 

"Captain  William  Tucker  his  muster 

Captain  William  Tucker:    aged  36:    in  the  Mary  and  Jane: 
1610: 

Mrs.  Mary  Tucker:    aged  26;    in  the  George:    1623. 

William  Crawshaw  an  Indean  Baptised 

Antoney  Negro :  Isabell  Negro :  and  William  their  child 
Baptised."31 

In  a  second  edition  of  Hotten  the  entry  referring  to  Anthony 
reads  "Anthony,  negro,  Isabell,  a  Negro,  and  William  her  child, 
baptised."  Whether  the  little  Negro  child  was  the  only  one  bap- 


9.  Hist,  of  the  Negro  Race  in  America,  p.  131. 

10.  Hotten,   Emigrants,   p.   185. 

11.  Ibid,  p.   244. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE    NEGRO  17 

tized,  or  the  whole  family,  is  not  of  so  great  importance  as  the 
fact  that,  at  least,  one  Negro  was  baptized  soon  after  the  con 
tact  with  the  colonists  in  Virginia.  This  baptismal  occasion  may 
well  be  considered  a  red-letter  day  in  the  annals  of  the  Negro 
race.  It  marked  the  beginning  of  a  stewardship  in  spiritual 
things  that  bound  the  better  elements  of  the  White  race  to  the 
Negro  race  until  after  Reconstruction  had  run  part  of  its  course. 
It  was  a  very  unpretentious  beginning  of  the  evangelization  of 
the  race,  yet  it  was  a  successful  beginning.  The  Government 
Census  Reports  on  Religious  Bodies,  1906,12  credits  Virginia 
with  307,374  Negro  communicants  or  members.  This  host  is 
not  a  negligible  component  of  the  life  of  our  State.  The  day  of 
small  beginnings  should  not  be  despised. 

The  old  Registers  and  Vestry  books  of  the  early  Colonial  Par 
ishes  have  been  badly  preserved,  if  not  actually  destroyed.  In 
one  place,  the  leaves  were  torn  out  and  folded  to  make  fire 
lighters  for  household  use;  in  another,  the  leaves  were  used  as 
tops  for  preserve  jars ;  in  others,  the  old  books  were  simply 
misplaced;  in  still  others,  burned.  Something  has  happened  to 
most  of  them.  Fires  have  devastated  many  old  County  Court 
Records.  Rats,  carelessness  and  poor  systems  of  filing  have 
added  to  the  confusion.  Occasionally,  however,  a  ray  of  light 
is  shed  on  our  study.  A  few  such  cases  we  shall  now  present. 
In  1641  a  Negro,  John  Graween,  the  servant  of  William  Evans, 
became  the  father  of  a  child  by  a  slave  belonging  to  Lieut.  Rob 
ert  Sheppard.  The  negro  father  was  exceedingly  desirous  that 
his  child  ''should  be  made  a  Christian  and  brought  up  in  the 
fear  of  God  and  in  the  knowledge  of  religion  taught  and  exer 
cised  in  the  Church  of  England."  By  accumulations  from  the 
sale  of  hogs  which  his  master  permitted  him  to  keep  upon  half 
shares,  Graween  eventually  purchased  the  freedom  of  his  child. 
The  court  declared  that  the  disposing  and  education  of  the  child 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  child's  father  and  godfather,  who 
undertook  to  see  that  it  should  receive  an  education  in  the  Chris 
tian  belief.13 


12.  Part  I,  p.  562. 

13.  General  Court  Orders,  March  31,  1641,  Robinson  Transcripts  Va. 
Hist.   Mag.,  vol.  11,  page  281. 

See   Bruce's   Economic  Hist,  of  Va.,  Vol.   II,  p.   96. 


18  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

In  1645,  Francis  Pott  of  Northampton  County,  had  two  negro 
children  bound  to  him  and  by  the  terms  of  the  indenture  he  not 
only  bound  himself  to  furnish  them  sufficient  meat,  drink,  cloth 
ing  and  lodging  but  also  to  use  his  best  endeavors  to  rear  them 
in  the  fear  of  God  and  in  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ.  Mr. 
Pott  bought  these  children  from  one  of  his  Negro  servants 
named  Emanuel  Dregis.  The  books  mentioned  in  an  abstract 
under  the  same  date,  quoted  in  the  Virginia  Historical  Mag 
azine,  were,  "The  Bible  without  the  Psalms ;  Dr.  William  Smith's 
Sermons ;  and  the  Practice  of  Piety."14  Even  if  owners  of 
Negroes  were  not  impelled  by  Christian  motives,  it  would  very 
naturally  be  to  their  best  interest  to  give  their  slaves  a  knowledge 
of  the  rudiments  of  reading  and  writing.  And  how  acceptable 
the  Bible  was  for  a  text-book  in  those  days !  It  is  true  that  the 
Negroes  often  had  to  be  made  to  go  to  church,  but  this  was  done 
quite  generally. 

In  York  County  Records,  Amy  Barnhouse  wishes  all  Chris 
tian  people  to  know  that  she  gave  to  Mihill  Gowan,  a  free  negro, 
employed  by  Mr.  Robert  Stafford,  "a  male  child  borne  ye  ,25th. 
of  August  in  ye  yeare  of  our  Lord  God  1655  of  ye  body  of  my 
negro  Rosa — being  baptized  by  Mr.  Edward  Johnson  the  2nd. 
of  September  1655  and  named  William."15  Air.  Johnson  was 
one  of  the  witnesses  to  this  legal  document  and  signed  himself, 
minister.  Mr.  W.  Ingraham  was  the  other  witness.  "At  a 
Court  held  for  York  County  26  August  i66f  it  is  seen  that 
Edmond  Chrisman's  wife  took  her  Negroes  to  a  Quaker  meet 
ing.  Quakers  were  under  the  interdict  at  that  time  and  the  court 
ordered  that  Chrisman  "restreyne  his  said  Negroes  and  whole 
familv.  from  repairing  to  ye  said  unlawful  Assemblye  at  his 
peril"  16 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  old  records  show  such  a  com 
mendable  zeal  on  the  part  of  some  in  promoting  the  religious 


14.  Ms.    Court    Records    of   Northampton    County,    1645-1651,   p.    82. 
Book  No.  3   (orders,  deeds   &  wills).     Abstract  of  same  in  Va.  Hist. 
Mag.,   Vol.   IV,  p.   407.      See  J.   C.   Wise,   "The    Early    History   of  the 
Eastern   Shore  of  Virginia,"  p.  287;   also,  J.   Russell,  "The   Free   Ne 
gro   in   Virginia,    1610-1865,"   p.   138. 

15.  York   County   Records,   Vol.   1657-1662,  p.   45. 

16.  York   County   Records,   Vol.    1657-1662,   p.   324. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOP  ME  NT   O-F   THE    NEGRO  19 

welfare  of  Negroes.  A  further  search  of  the  records  would 
doubtless  reveal  many  more  instances  of  which  the  foregoing 
are  samples.  One  could  hardly  expect,  however,  to  find  in 
Court  Records  many  details  concerning  the  religious  welfare  of 
white  people  and  necessarily  much  less  concerning  Negroes. 
There  are  a  surprising  number  of  references  to  kindnesses,  etc., 
extended  to  Negroes,  as  found  in  manumissions  and  papers  of 
commendation,  petitions  and  the  like,  but  those  matters  are  not 
exactly  to  our  point.  It  is  significant  that  the  church  eventually 
became  the  agency  for  carrying  out  the  laws  of  negro  appren 
ticeship.17  The  administration  of  the  laws  concerning  children 
born  of  a  free  English  woman  and  a  negro  or  mulatto  was  in 
the  church  warden's  hands.18 

The  mother  country's  missionary  interest  in  Virginia  never 
flagged.  Not  only  were  the  Indians  a  matter  of  consideration  in 
this  connection,  but  the  Negroes  also  received  their  share.  In 
1661  the  Council  for  Foreign  Plantations  ordered  that  a  letter 
should  be  sent  to  the  authorities  in  the  Barbadoes  and  Virginia 
commanding  them  to  encourage  the  introduction  of  ministers 
who  would  specialize  in  the  work  of  converting  the  newly  im 
ported  Negroes  to  Christianity.19  The  Negro  as  a  distinctive 
element  in  our  early  Virginia  days  needed  the  attention  of  ex 
perts.  To  prepare  them  for  baptism  would  have  been  a  diffi 
cult  task  indeed,  if  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Colonial  ministry 
alone.20  There  is  much  romance  about  our  early  Virginia  his 
tory,  but  it  is  a  gruesome  fact  that  the  ministers  who  came  here 
must  have  sorely  taxed  the  patience  of  the  godly-disposed  among 
the  "adventurers."  The  statutes  of  that  day  show  a  legal  wall 
built  around  the  ministers  to  prevent  them  from  overleaping 
bounds  and  transgressing  in  such  a  manner  as  to  involve  the 
profanation  of  themselves,  their  parishioners  and  the  church.21 


17.  Hening,  vol.   3,   p.    57. 

18.  Hening,  vol.  3,  p.  87. 

19.  British    State    Papers,    Colonial,   Vol.    XIV,    No.    59. 
See  Bruce,   Economic  History  of  Virginia,  p.  96. 

20.  Sir   Wm.    Berkeley   wrote    in    1671;    "We    have    48    parishes 

Ministers   well   paid  and  would  be  better,   //   they  would  pray  oftener 
and  preach   less." 

21.  Hening,   vol.    I,   p.    158. 


20  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

It  seems  very  clear  that  the  spiritual  food  doled  out  to  the  colo 
nists   would   scarcely   permit   them   to   surfeit,   and   we   may   be 
sure  that  Negroes  under,  these  circumstances  should  have  been 
thankful  that  they  received  anything  at  all.     In  reality,  the  ar 
gument  advanced  that  slavery  was  justifiable  because  the  slaves 
were  Christianized  by  the  slave-holders  came  precariously  near 
not  being. true.     That  efforts  were  made,  however,  to  accomplish 
the  commendable. purpose  of  Christianizing  them,  none  can  deny. 
Immorality  in  sexual  matters  was  positively  inhibited  in  the 
colony.     The  Negro  was   certainly  protected  here,   if  anything, 
better  than  at  a  later  date.     In  1630,  Sept.  17th,  we  read  that: 
"Hugh  Davis  is  to  be  soundly  whipped,  before  an  assembly  of 
negroes  and  others  for  abusing  himself  to  the  dishonor  of  God, 
and  shame  of  Christians,  by  defiling  his  body  in  lying  with  a 
negro,   which   fault  he  is  to  acknowledge  next  Sabbath  day.''22 
In   1640,  "Robert  Sweet  to  do  penance  in  church  according  to 
laws  of  England,  for  getting  a  negro  woman  with  child  and  the 
woman  whipt."23     The  act  passed  in  1662  in  which  the  English 
principle  PARTUS  SEQUITUR  VENTREM  was  made  law  in  Virginia, 
concludes  with  a  penalty  of  double  the  fines  imposed  by  a  former 
act,    "if   any   Christian   shall   commit    fornication   with   a   negro 
man  or  woman."24     Nothing  can  be  more  certainly  established 
concerning  the  seventeenth  century  than  the  fact  that  the  "pre 
vention   of   that  abominable  mixture   and   spurious   issue   which 
hereafter  may  encrese  in  this  dominion"  was  a  matter  extremely 
puzzling  to  the  legislators  and  concerning  which  they  spoke  in 
no  uncertain  tones.     In   1691   it  was  enacted  that  "whatsoever 
English,  or  other  white  man  or  woman  being  free  shall  inter 
marry  with   a  negro,  mulatto,   or   Indian  man  or  woman  bond 
or  free,  shall  within  three  months  after  such  marriage  be  ban 
ished  and   removed    from   this   dominion   forever."25     The   jus 
tices  of  the  counties  were  to  make  it  "their  particular  care,  that 
this  act  be  put  in  effectual  execution."     It  was  inevitable  that 
there  should  be  many  transgressions,  but  they  are  to  be  ascribed 


22.  Hening,  vol.   I,  p.   146. 

23.  Hening,  vol.  I,  p.  552. 

24.  Hening,  vol.  II,  p.  170. 

25.  Hening,  vol.  Ill,  p.  86. 


RKUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   oF  THE}    NEGRO  21 

rather  to  the  frailties  of  human  nature  than  to  any  lack  of  good 
motives  among  the  colonists.  It  is  because  of  an  utter,  almost 
studied  misapprehension  of  the  sincerity  of  the  religious  life  of 
the  Colonial  settlers  in  Virginia  2G  that  Negroes  have  been  led 
to  believe  that  they  received  no  care  religiously  in  the  early  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  is  only  fair  to  both  races  that 
the  truth  be  known. 

In  1667  one  of  the  impediments  to  the  baptism  of  Negroes 
was  removed.  In  the  very  earliest  days  of  Portuguese  activities 
in  the  slave  trade  the  justification  of  the  business  was  that  the 
grand  end  to  be  attained  would  be  the  salvation  of  many  souls. 
This  argument  availed  to  satisfy  the  religionists  and  was  gladly 
accepted  by  those  being  benefited  financially.  Africa  was  a  much 
darker  continent  then  than  now.  If  the  slave  trade  could  save 
souls,  then  a  double  benefit  would  be  derived  by  the  purchaser 
of  slaves :  ( 1 )  he  would  be  instrumental  in  converting  the 
heathen,  and  (2)  he  would  secure  the  life-long  services  of  ca 
pable  laborers.  Christian  people,  however,  had  seen  the  incon 
sistency  of  holding  other  Christians  in  slavery.  The  idea  of 
freedom  was  inseparably  connected  with  the  Christian  belief. 
Hence,  men  of  a  heathen  land  such  as  Africa  were 'subject  to 
the  bonds  of  slavery,  while  Englishmen,  Frenchmen,  and  the 
like,  were  not  liable  to  suffer  that  fate,  since  they  were  assumed 
to  be  Christians,  and  salvation,  as  well  as  freedom,  was  sup 
posed  to  be  theirs  already. 

Ever  since  the  Diet  of  Worms  a  notion  had  been  half-lurking 
in  the  minds  of  men  that  baptism  and  the  consequent  conversion 
to  Christianity  effected  the  freedom  of  a  slave.  What  should 
be  done  with  this  question  in  Virginia?  The  heathen  had  been 
set  down  here,  and  others  were  being  bought,  Virginians  wanted 
to  retain  their  property  at  its  full  economic  value,  and  they 
wanted,  too,  to  have  their  negroes  saved.  Here  was  the  di 
lemma.  According  to  the  reasoning  of  some,  if  they  had  them 
baptized  the  Negroes  became  Christians  and  thus  the  piety  of  the 
conscientious  masters  would  work  injury  to  their  finances  by 
their  being  forced  to  release  the  slaves  from  life-long  servitude. 


26.  See  defense  of  Virginia  by  Thomas  Nelson  Page — The  Old  Do 
minion — Plantation  Edition,  p.  372. 


REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF    TIIK    NEGRO 

If   they   did   not   have   them   baptized,   the   laudable   purpose   of 
Christianizing  the  Negroes  would  be  stopped,  the  Negroes  would 
grow  more  degraded    (if  possible),  and  the  consciences  of  the 
best   masters   would   be   violently   disturbed.     With   our   present 
perspective,  perhaps  some  of  us  marvel  that  anyone  should  hes 
itate   to   save   the   souls   of   men   because   of   pecuniary   interest. 
Yet,  like  economic  considerations  are  powerful  enough  even  in 
this  day  to  make  us  moderns  do  some  things  that  seem  as  crav- 
enly  irreligious.     Conscience  salve   is   in  existence  now  as  well 
as  theiir     In  those  days  some  conserved  their  pecuniary  inter 
ests  by  trusting  to  the  mercy  of  God  to  save  the  poor,  ignorant, 
black  savages ;    in  these  days,  many  aid  the  Negroes  financially 
in  their  church-building  projects,  yet  reap  rich  harvests  out  of 
institutions  that  make  it  impossible  for  them  to  live  up  to  their 
religious  professions.     The  Virginia  gentlemen*  of  long  ago  en 
deavored  to   remedy  their  defect  by  passing  a   law   which   was 
ingenious    philosophically    and    legally.      This    law    of    1667    is 
worthy  of  being  quoted  in  its  entirety :    "Whereas  some  doubts 
have   risen   whether   children   that   are   slaves  by  birth,   and   by 
the   charity  and  piety   of   their  owners   made  partakers   of   the 
blessed  sacrament  of  baptisme,  should  by  vertue  of  their  bap- 
tisme  be  made  ffree ;  It  is  enacted  and  declared  by  this  grand  as 
sembly,  and  the  authority  thereof,  that  the  conferring  of  bap 
tisme  doth  not  alter  the  condition  of  the  person  as  to  his  bond 
age  or  frreedome;    that  divers  masters,  ffreed  from  this  doubt, 
may   more   carefully   endeavor   the   propagation   of    Christianity 
by  permitting  children,  though  slaves,  or  those  of  greater  growth 
if  capable  to  be  admitted  to  that  sacrament."  2T    The  foregoing  act 
was  undoubtedly  a  distinct  triumph  for  the  forces  of  righteous 
ness  in  the  effort  to  encourage  some  masters  to  give  their  slaves 
full  opportunity  to  become  Christians.     It  removed  one  obstruc 
tion.     When  this  fact  is  made  clear  the  men  of  the  seventeenth 
century  are  seen. in  a  better  light. 

Whereas  we  are  now  surrounded  by  Negroes  and  think  of 
the  present  Virginia  Negroes  as  constituents  of  a  vast  host  of 
their  race  in  the  United  States,  conditions  were  far  different 
in  those  days  of  which  we  have  been  writing.  In  1624-' 5  there 


27.  Hening,  vol.   II,  p.   260. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  23 

were  only  twenty-two  Negroes  in  Virginia ;  2S  and  even  as  late 
as  1649,  thirty  years  after  their  first  introduction  into  Virginia, 
only  three  hundred  were  in  the  Colony.29  In  1671  Gov.  Berkely 
stated  that  there  were  two  thousand  black  slaves.30  In  1863 
Gov.  Culpeper  reports  3,000  blacks.31  Toward  the  end  of  the 
century,  however,  the  numbers  of  the  blacks  increased  very 
rapidly.  These  numbers  enter  into  the  reasoning  concerning 
the  seventeenth  century  and  would  seem  to  indicate  that  no  one 
should  be  surprised  if  the  records  of  those  days  show  little  con 
cerning  the  religious  development  of  the  Negro.  The  matter  of 
an  Indian  massacre,  the  conquering  of  a  wilderness,  tlie  arrival 
of  orders,  governors  and  emigrants  from  Europe,  the  raising 
of  tobacco  and  the  culture  of  silk-worms,  very  naturally,  because 
of  a  popular  demand  to  know  about  them,  became  matters  of 
history  rather  than  the  inconspicuous  lives  of  negro  slaves  on  a 
plantation.  Travellers  had  little  opportunity  to  know  their  re 
ligious  state  since  it  would  hardly  have  been  in  good  taste  for 
visitors  to  delve  into  the  lives  of  a  host's  slaves.  We  do  rot  do 
such  things  now.  Whether  one's  Irish  maid  is  Catholic  or 
Protestant  is  hardly  the  subject  of  inquiry  now  when  visiting. 
Whether  our  cook  is  Baptist  or  Methodist  we  generally  omit  to 
record  in  our  letters,  and  certainly  do  not  insert  such  items  in 
our  court  records.  These  facts  deserve  consideration  as  a  pos 
sible  explanation  of  the  absence  of  a  great  mass  of  material 
dealing  with  the  Negro's  religious  life.  The  Negro  problem  was 
not  so  clearly  recognized  in  the  seventeenth  century  as  now.  If 
we  could  have  been  sitting  by  the  fireside  when  John  was  talking 
to  Mann  or  William  or  Jacquelin  about  the  slaves ;  and  could 
have  realized  how  anxious  coming  generations  would  be  to  know 
the  facts,  what  a  mass  of  information  we  should  have  copied. 

By  an  act  of  1670  the  Assembly  declared  that  "all  servants 
not  being  Christians  imported  into  this  colony  by  shipping  shall 
be  slaves  for  their  lives."  Those  servants  that  come  by  land 


28.  Hotten,   Emigrants. 

29.  P.   Force's   Historical  Tracts,   Vol.    II,    "A   New   Description   of 
Va.,"  p.  1. 

30.  Hening,  Vol.  II,  p.  515. 

31.  From  an  account  of  Lord  Culpeper's  Compliance  with  Instruc 
tions  from  the  King,  McDonald  State  Papers,  Vol.  VI. 


24  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

were  to  serve  until  thirty  years  of  age,  if  boys  or  girls,  and  for 
twelve  years,  if  men  or  women.32  The  act  was  primarily  framed 
to  settle  the  time  of  service  of  Indians  captured  by  other  nations 
and  sold  to  the  English,  and  next  to  settle  who  were  slaves. 
Although  the  word  Negro  is  not  mentioned  in  the  act  it  is  evi 
dent  what  it  intended  to  cover  when  it  speaks  of  "servants  not 
being  Christians  imported  into  this  colony  by  shipping." 

Christianity  thus  became  a  valuable  temporal  asset  to  the 
slave.  If  the  Negro  happened  to  be  sent  in  by  shipping  from 
New  England,  the  West  Indies,  or  from  England,  the  fact  that 
he  came  from  a  Christian  country  was  sufficient  in  practice  to 
guarantee  him  service  in  this  country  not  longer  than  the  time 
served  by  Christian  servants.  The  territoriality  of  the  term 
Christian  was  deemed  sufficient  proof  of  Christianity,  that  is,  if 
one  lived  in  a  Christian  country,  one  was  considered  a  Christian 
without  proof  of  the  individual  profession.  Under  this  law 
great  inconvenience  was  experienced  by  masters  who  were  com 
pelled  to  sell  servants ;  and  further,  inland  immigration  into 
Virginia  from  another  state  was  practically  prohibited  to  slave 
holders.  Something  had  to  be  done. 

The  preamble  to  the  act  of  1682  avers  33  that  many  Negroes 
Moors,  mulattoes  and  others  born  of  heathenish  or  Moham 
medan  parentage  or  in  such  countries,  have  and  may  again  be 
obtained,  by  "some  well-disposed  Christian"  who  "out  of  pious 
zeal"  may  convert  them  to  Christianity  and  then  be  forced  by 
circumstances  to  sell  them;  but  he  cannot  sell  them  as  slaves  in 
Virginia  after  conversion,  but  only  as  servants  because  of  pre 
vious  laws. 

This  state  of  affairs  was  considered  a  grievance  by  the  col 
ony,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  remedy  it.  After  the  financial 
strain  incident  to  Bacon's  Rebellion,  the  Assembly  repealed  the 
law  of  1670,  and  then  enacted  a  law  which  made  slaves  ot  all 
servants  of  non-Christian  nationalities,  coming  into  the  colony, 
whether  by  sea  or  by  land.  This  law  applied  to  the  purchase 
of  servants,  whether  Christian  or  non-Christian,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  Turks  and  Moors  in  friendship  with  the  English  gov- 


32.  Hening,  Vol.   II,  p.  283. 

33.  Hening,  Vol.  II,  p.  491. 


REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE    NEGRO  25 

ernment.    This  was  a  strictly  economic  measure  and  by  it  Chris 
tianity  after  capture  could  not  be  used  to  effect  freedom. 

Importers  of  slaves  naturally  disliked  the  losses  sustained  by 
returning  Christian  Negroes  to  the  places  from  which  they  had 
been  imported,  or  the  losses  incident  to  their  removal  to  places 
where  both  Christian  and  heathen  Negroes  had  to  serve  for 
life.  It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  there  was  nothing  in  the 
act  to  make  one  think  that  there  was  the  least  hostility  to  spread 
ing1  Christianity  among  slaves;  on  the  other  hand  it  is  clear  that 
the  act  was  strictly  an  economic  one  which  permitted  Christian 
Negroes  to  be  enslaved. 

To  prove  the  interest  of  the  officials  of  England  in  the  welfare 
of  Negroes  in  Virginia  we  may  note  the  inquiries  sent  by  com 
mand  of  the  Right  Honorable,  the  Lords  of  the  Committee  of 
Foreign  Plantations,  to  Sir  William  Berkeley  Knight,  Captain 
General  and  Governor  in  chief  of  his  Majesty's  Colony  of  Vir 
ginia. 

Question  No.  20  was :  "What  number  of  Whites,  Black  or 
mulattoes  have  been  born  or  christened  for  these  seven  years 
last  past  or  any  other  space  of  time?"34  Among  similar  in 
teresting  documents  throwing  light  on  our  study  is  that  which 
embodies  the  instructions  given  by  King  Charles  to  Lord  Thomas 
Culpeper,  who  was  Governor  of  Virginia.  These  instructions 
cover  many  points  and  not  the  least  among  the  orders  was  that 
one  which  commands  that  he  shall  endeavor  to  have  a  law  passed 
which  shall  tend  to  restrain  bad  masters  or  overseers  from  the 
exercise  of  inhuman  severity  toward  their  Christian  35  servants 
or  slaves ;  also  that  he  is  to  endeavor  to  find  out  with  the  assist 
ance  of  the  Council  and  the  Assembly,  "the  best  means  to  facil 
itate  and  encourage  the  Conversion  of  Negroes  to  the  Christian 
Religion"  and  to  exercise  care  that  no  harm  should  come  to  the 
persons  or  properties  of  the  colonists.30  The  same  instructions 
were  sent  to  Francis  Lord  Howard  of  Effingham  when  he  was 
in  Virginia.37  The  instructions  are  significant  enough,  but  the 


34.  McDonald   State   Papers,  Vol.   V,  p.   21. 

35.  Christian — White  indentured. 

36.  McDonald  State  Papers,  Vol.  VI,  p.  43,  §  65. 

37.  Ibid,  Vol.  VI,  p.  258,  §  63. 


26  REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO 

answers  to  them  are  of  far  more  vital  consequence  for  our  pur 
poses.  Lord  Culpeper  declared  that  a  law  to  protect  slaves  from 
ill-treatment  had  been  passed,  and  concerning  the  second  part  of 
the  instruction,  declared,  "Negroes  are  daily  Converted  to  the 
Christian  Religion,  now  they  are  to  continue  to  be  slaves  for 
ever."  3S  The  answers  are  important  coming  just  at  this  time 
since  it  will  be  remembered  that  Morgan  Godwyn  published  "The 
Negro's  and  Indian's  Advocate"  in  1680  and  "The  Supplement" 
in  1681.  In  the  light  of  the  legislation  in  1667  removing  a  se 
rious  obstacle  to  the  baptism  of  slaves  and  with  Lord  Culpeper's 
compliance  with  his  instructions  before  us,  we  are  led  to  be 
lieve  that  Godwyn  was  a  special  pleader.  Of  course,  a  man  can 
see  what  he  sets  out  to  see  in  this  world,  and  it  is  indisputable 
that  crime  or  mere  wrong-doing  is  more  liable  to  attract  atten 
tion  than  the  praiseworthy  actions  of  thousands  of  men.  One 
intoxicated  man  on  a  university  campus  attracts  far  more 
attention  than  the  hundreds  of  men  diligent  in  their  application 
to  their  studies.  Morgan  Godwyn  was  looking  for  trouble  and 
he  found  it.  Another  man  looking  for  better  things  would 
have  found  them.39  However,  whatever  Godwyn's  findings 
were,  we  know  that  he  was  a  Virginia  parson  and  he  must  have 
expressed  the  feelings  of  many  others  interested  in  the  Negroes' 
uplift  even  though  he  spoke  his  and  their  sentiments  as  it  were, 
through  a  megaphone. 

Few  relics  of  the  seventeenth  century  are  more  valuable  than 
the  old  Parish  Register  of  Christ  Church,  Middlesex  County. 
From  this  we  shall  quote  two  entries.  Under  the  heading, 
"Christenings  1682,  etc."  we  read,  "Thomas  Clincker  ye  sone 
of  Thomas  Clinker  by  Ginney  Bess  (a  flree  Negro  \Yoman) 
was  baptized  5th  of  Aug.  1683.  Mr.  John  Cocking  Godfather." 
Under  the  heading  "Christenings  1683  &  1684,"  we  find, 
"Phillip  Phillips  Jane  Phillips  Sone  &  Daughter  of  Thomas 


38.  McDonald   State   Papers,   Vol.   VI,  p.  63,   §   65. 

39.  A    Journal    of    the    Life,    Travels,    Sufferings,    etc.,    of    William 
Edmundson,   Pub.    London    1774,    p.    329.      In   a    letter    from    the    Bar- 
badoes   in   1675  this  prominent   Friend   wrote:     "Many  of  the    Blacks 
are    convinced,   and    several    of   them    confess    to    Truth,    and    Things 
here   are   peaceable,   and   in  as   good   Order  as   can   well   be   expected 
at  present." 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  27 

&  Eliza  Phillips   (both  Capt.  Creeks  negroes)   was  baptized  2th 
of  Xemb  1683."  40 

The  power  of  the  Negro  priest  with  his  superstitious  African 
rites  was  tremendous  on  the  plantations.  It  has  been  said :  "The 
priest  in  the  African  state  has  already  been  noted;  his  realm 
alone — the  province  of  religion  and  medicine — remained  largely 
unaffected  by  the  plantation  system  in  many  important  partic 
ulars.  The  Negro  priest,  therefore,  early  became  an  important 
figure  on  the  plantation  and  found  his  function  as  the  inter 
preter  of  the  supernatural,  the  comforter  of  the  sorrowing,  and 
as  one  who  expressed,  rudely,  but  picturesquely,  the  longing  and 
disappointment  and  resentment  of  a  stolen  people."41  It  would 
seem  that  the  introduction  of  these  priests — whether  priests  in 
Africa  or  self-appointed  in  America — was  a  constant  men 
ace  to  the  Christianizing  work  done  among  the  Negroes 
who  were  imported  after  their  arrival,  or  even  among 
those  who  preceded  them  to*  America.  The  Burgesses  in 
1680  enacted  that  it  was  illegal  for  a  negro  or  other 
slave  to  carry  a  club,  gun,  sword  or  weapon,  and  slaves  must 
not  leave  the  plantation  without  a  certificate  from  the  master 
or  overseer  and  then  only  on  particular  and  necessary  occasions. 
The  frequent  meetings  of  slaves  in  large  numbers  under  pre 
tense  of  feasts  and  burials  caused  the  fear  of  an  uprising.  This 
law,  however,  would  hardly  prevent  them  from  attending  church 
with  their  masters. 

When  Governor  Nicholson,  near  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  was  directed  by  the  English  authorities  to  recommend 
laws  to  the  General  Assembly  for  the  education  of  the  Indians 
and  Negroes  in  the  Christian  faith,  he  complied,  but  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  on  June  2,  1699,  returned  this  discouraging  reply: 
"Negroes  born  in  the  country  were  generally  baptized,  but  for 
Negroes  imported,  the  gross  barbarity  and  rudeness  of  their 
manners,  the  variety  and  strangeness  of  their  languages,  and  the 
weakness  and  shallowness  of  their  minds  rendered  it  in  a  man- 


40.  Original    Parish    Register,    Christ    Church,    Middlesex    County, 
Va.,    in    Episcopal    Theological    Seminary    Library,    Alexandria,    Va. 
Copy  was  published  by  the  National  Society  of  the   Colonial  Dames 
of  America   in   the    State   of   Virginia,    1897. 

41.  The    Negro   Church,   p.    5. 


28  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

ner  impossible  to  attain  to  any  progress  in  their  conversion."  42 
This  startling  reply  would  seem  to  indicate  that  Africa  at  that 
time  was  not  such  an  ideal  place  as  some  writers  intimate.  It 
further  indicates  that  a  godly  care  had  been  exercised  in  favor 
of  the  children  of  the  early  negroes  since  those  "born  in  the 
[this]  country  were  generally  baptized."  It  indicates  further 
that  the  task  of  Christianizing  the  late  arrivals  from  Africa  was 
a  well-nigh  hopeless  one.  This  pessimistic  response  certainly 
boded  no  good  for  the  future.  Time  alone  was  needed.  The 
newly  imported  negroes  were  improved  by  contact  with  Chris 
tian  masters  or  Christian  fellow  slaves,  and  a  change  came  with 
the  birth  of  children.  There  is  no  new  principle  involved  in  the 
fear  expressed  by  the  Burgesses  that  the  Christianization  of 
those  not  born  in  this  country  was  hopeless.  The  staid,  old 
legislators  were  merely  expressing  the  time-honored,  yet  homely 
principle,  "It  is  hard  to  teach  old  dogs  new  tricks."  Mission 
aries,  settlement  workers,  educators — all  people  interested  in 
uplift  work  recognize  the  principle,  and  rarely  expect  results 
from  the  old,  but  rather  from  the  young. 

The  events  of  the  eighteenth  century,  however,  will  prove 
that  the  members  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  even  though  ever 
so  wise  counsellors  would  not  take  high  rank  as  prophets. 
Thousands  of  Negroes  were  converted  before  the  end  of  that 
century  and  the  seemingly  impossible  was  proved  to  be  possible. 

Let  us  briefly  summarize. 

In  the  seventeenth  century,  1619,  the  negro  was  first  intro 
duced  into  America.  In  1625  at  least  one  was  baptized.  In 
1641,  '46,  and  '55  court  records  show  interest  in  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  Negroes.  In  1661,  the  Council  of  Foreign  Planta 
tions  in  England  recommended  the  procuring  of  ministers  es 
pecially  for  the  work  of  preparing  the  Negroes  for  baptism. 
The  state  regularly  frowned  down  the  transgression  of  moral 
laws  involving  the  blacks.  In  1667,  legislation  was  enacted  tak 
ing  away  one  of  the  barriers  to  the  baptism  of  the  slaves.  There 
were  very  few  Negroes  in  Virginia  up  to  1650  and  then  the 
increase  was  so  rapid  that  superstition  is  presumed  to  have  made 


42.  Calendar    of    State    Papers,    Colonial    America    &    West    Indies 
1699,  §  473. 


REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE    NEGRO  29 

some  pessimistic  concerning  the  conversion  of  newly  imported 
ones.  The  laws  of  1670  and  1682  were  economic  primarily  and 
only  secondarily  religious.  Instructions  to  the  Governors  of 
Virginia  show  interest  by  English  officials  in  the  conversion  of 
the  negroes  in  Virginia.  Gov.  Culpeper  reported  progress  in  the 
work.  Morgan  Godwyn,  once  a  Rector  in  Virginia,  averred  that 
little  or  nothing  was  done  for  the  Negroes  and  intimated  a  bad 
state  of  affairs  in  the  early  church  government.  Records  in 
one  of  the  few  Parish  registers  extant  show  the  baptism  of 
Negro  children.  The  House  of  Burgesses  declared  that  Vir 
ginia  born  Negroes  were  baptized,  but  expressed  little  hope 
for  the  newly-imported  blacks.  The  religious  development  of 
a  race  of  savages  must  necessarily  be  slow,  but  the  encouraging 
feature  of  it  all  is  that  a  beginning  occurred  so  soon  after  their 
arrival  in  America.  After  eighty-one  years  of  the  seventeenth 
century  we  must  recognize  that  the  reach  between  the  religious 
status  of  the  first  Negroes  imported  in  1619,  and  the  Christian, 
Virginia-born  children  and  grandchildren  of  these  first  bar 
barians,  is  remarkable. 


30  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF    THE    NEGRO 


THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY. 

It  is  evident  that  each  century  has  had  its  distinctive  work 
to  do  in  the  development  of  the  religious  life  of  the  Negro. 
Although  so  much  had  heen  done  for  the  Negroes  in  the  seven 
teenth  century,  yet  the  great  importations  of  Negroes  toward 
the  end  of  that  century  made  the  task  of  Christianizing  the 
newly-arrived  ones  appear  almost  hopeless  to  the  gentlemen 
composing  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses.  It  was  the  busi 
ness  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  manifest  the  undoubted  su 
periority  of  the  Christian  Negro,  and  to  make  the  movement 
for  their  Christianization  popular.  A  false  step  in  this  critical 
period  of  the  Negroes'  religious  development  would  have  been 
followed  by  circumstances  too  sad  to  contemplate.  The  opti 
mism  of  a  new-born  century  was  to  supplant  the  pessimism  of 
a  dying  one. 

As  early  as  the  year  1700,  Mr.  Commissary  Blair  wrote  a  let 
ter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in  which  he  stated  that  the 
ground-work  in  hand  in  Virginia  was  the  revisal  of  the  laws, 
which  had  been  entrusted  by  the  last  legislature  to  a  standing 
committee.  Mr.  Blair's  opinion  being  desired  by  the  committee 
concerning  the  government  and  the  encouragement  of  the  clergy, 
he  not  only  gave  that,  but  also  put  in  "another  shorter  one  for 
the  encouragement  of  the  Christian  Education  of  our  Negro 
and  Indian  Children."  1  It  is  very  evident  that  such  an  influ 
ential  person  would  be  a  very  helpful  advocate  in  such  a  cause. 
At  this  time  however,  nothing  consequential  to  the  Negro  grew 
out  of  the  proposal,  but  better  things  were  in  store  later  on. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  baptisms  continued.2 


1.  Wm.    Stevens    Perry— Hist.    Collections    Relating   to    the    Ameri 
can  Colonial  Church — Virginia — p.  112. 

2.  Abingdon    Parish    Register,    Gloucester    Co.,    Va. — "Susanna,    a 
mulatto   belonging   to   Joseph    Coleman,   baptized   April    14,    1700." 

St.  Peter's  Register,  New  Kent  County,  Va.,  p.  12.  "Moll  a  negro 
girl  belonging  to  Madam  Field  bapt. — ,  170 — '  "Frances  and  Kate 
Negroes  belonging  to  Mr.  Geo.  Poindexter,  hapt.  Feby.  4th,  1704-5," 
p.  30.  "Negroes  belonging  to  Mrs.  Alice  Field:  Peter,  Muscadoras, 


RKUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  31 

In  London  on  the  16th  day  of  June,  1701,  under  William  III, 
"The  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  parts" 
was  incorporated.  This  society  held  a  meeting  within  a  few 
days  after  its  incorporation.  Its  formation  was  due  to  a  desire 
to  supply  the  want  of  religious  institutions  and  privileges  in 
America  among  the  members  of  the  Established  Church,  and 
secondarily,  to  extend  the  Gospel  to  the  Indians  and  slaves.3 
The  Society  recognized  its  work  to  consist  of  three  kinds : 
"The  care  and  instruction  of  our  people  settled  in  the  colonies: 
the  conversion  of  the  Indian  savages,  and  the  conversion  of  the 
Negroes."  The  last-mentioned  work  soon  came  to  be  the  prin 
cipal  care  of  the  society.  Missionaries  were  sent  to  America 
and  ministers  preached  sermons  to  the  members  in  England 
telling  them  of  thousands  of  Negroes  in  America  under  Chris 
tian  governments  and  living  in  Christian  families,  yet  faring  no 
better  religiously  than  they  did  in  Africa.  Tracts  were  pub 
lished  and  distributed  among  the  slave  owners  urging  them  to 
greater  care  for  the  slaves.  This  society  did  excellent  work  in 
New  York  and  South  Carolina,  but  touched  Virginia  very 
lightly.  There  are  two  alternatives :  either  this  colony  "where, 
the  plantation  system  reached  its  best  development," 4  was  ap 
proximating  its  duty,  or,  the  English  directors  feared  that  the 
forces  of  evil  here  would  contaminate  their  missionaries.  We 
think  the  first  alternative  is  nearer  true. 

The  legislation  of  1705  is  very  pertinent  to  our  subject.  We 
have  seen  that  by  the  act  of  1670  all  servants  imported,  being 
Christians  (and  in  practice  from  Christian  lands)  were  not  per 
mitted  to  be  held  in  life-long  servitude.  By  the  act  of  1682 
Negroes  and  Mulattoes  were  subject  to  life-long  servitude  un 
less  they  were  of  Christian  parentage  or  were  Christians  them 
selves  before  their  first  purchase.  In  the  act  of  1705,  only  per 
sonal  Christianity  on  their  native  heath,  or  freedom  that  could 


Mary,  Phillis,  Anne,  Elizabeth,  adult,  Baptized  January  ye  2nd.  17 — ," 
p.   12. 

Christ  Church  Register,  p.  58,  Middlesex  County,  Va. :  "James 
Morris  Son  of  Elizabeth  A  Mulatto  Woman  was  Baptized  by  Mr. 
Andrew  Jackson,  March  ye  15th.  Anno  Domi  170  5/6." 

3.  The   Gospel  among  the   Slaves.     Harrison  and  Barnes. 

4.  The   Negro   Church,   p.  4. 


REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   QF   THE    NEGRO 

be  proved,  in  England  or  some  other  Christian  country  were 
considered  sufficient  grounds  to  prevent  Negroes  and  Mulattoes 
from  being  enslaved  for  life.5  Their  conversion  to  Christianity 
after  being  sold  into  the  West  Indies,  or  any  Christian  colonies, 
would  not  avail  to  effect  their  freedom.  Christianity  was  now 
sufficient  only  to  save  the  individual  for  Heaven,  but  it  no  longer 
availed  to  protect  a  Negro  or  Mulatto  servant  from  being  en 
slaved  for  life,  unless  very  improbable  conditions  were  true, 
viz :  if  the  Negro  or  Mulatto  had  been  a  Christian  in  Africa,  or 
had  been  free  before  importation  into  Virginia.  The  incentive 
to  become  a  Christian  merely  to  stand  a  better  chance  for  the 
life  of  an  indentured  servant  instead  of  that  of  a  slave  was  done 
away  with  by  this  act. 

In  this  same  year,  1705,  a  law  was  passed  which  prevented 
Negroes,  Mulattoes  or  Indians  from  holding  any  office,  ecclesias 
tical,  civil  or  military.6  This  must  have  been  a  serious  blow  to 
any  power-loving  priests  from  Africa  who  had  been  brought  to 
America.  That  they  struggled  to  maintain  their  sovereign  sway 
over  their  credulous  followers  would  seem  to  follow  axio- 
matically.  Since  laws  are  usually  remedial  in  their  effect,  is  it 
not  fair  to  infer  that  Negroes  had  held  offices  in  the  ecclesias 
tical  establishment  before  this  date?  In  fact  it  was  almost  cer 
tain  that  such  was  the  case. 

The  Negro  certainly  had  no  distinguished  standing  in  Vir 
ginia  before  the  law.  The  Burgesses  declared  in  1705  that  the 
Negro,  Mulatto,  and  Indian  slaves  in  Virginia  should  be  "held, 
taken  and  adjudged  to  be  real-estate  (and  not  chattels)."7  In 
1727  the  slaves  were  to  pass  as  chattels,8  and  in  1748  the  two 
foregoing  acts  were  repealed  and  slaves  were  to  be  considered 
as  chattels  personal.9  The  amelioration  after  this  was  slow 
but  steady. 

Practically  all  of  the  oldest  Bruton  Parish  Register  was  de 
stroyed  to  furnish  wrappers  for  preserve  jars.10  The  binding 


5.  Hening,  Vol.   Ill,  pp.   447,  448. 

6.  Hening,  Vol.   Ill,  pp.  250-251. 

7.  Hening,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  333. 

8.  Hening,   Vol.    IV,   p.   223. 

9.  Hening,  Vol.   V,  pp.  438,  439. 

10.  Historical  Sketch  of  Bruton  Church— W.  A.  R.  Goodwin,  p.  152. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO  33 

or  stub  end  of  the  book  is  still  carefully  protected  in  a  steel  safe 
inside  a  fireproof  vault  under  the  historic  old  church  at  Wil- 
liamsburg.  In  the  preparation  of  this  study,  that  stub  was  per 
sonally  examined,  and  strange  to  say,  one  of  the  few  intelligible 
records  that  was  saved  from  the  preserve  jar  fate  was  the  record 
of  the  baptism  of  a  Negro.  \Ye  dare  not  infer  what  other  en 
tries  that  page  contained,  but  this  record  is  a  fact:  ''Daniel  a 
Negro  Bapt.  November"  [1711].  The  figures  1711  were  not 
saved  from  the  hands  of  the  Vandals,  but  the  entry  above  this 
one  was  dated  171 1  and  the  entry  next  below  was  dated  the  same. 
It  is  almost  a  certainty  that  the  year  1711  is  correct.  This  moves 
back  the  hitherto  first  known  Negro  baptism  on  that  register 
thirty-six  years.  In  the  death  list  of  the  same  period  we  find 
the  deaths  of  Negroes  recorded  in  the  same  list  with  the  whites. 
Although  we  have  no  direct  statement  to  the  effect  that  these 
Negroes  were  Christians,  still  as  Rev.  E.  Ruffin  Jones  has  said, 
"it  is  probable  that  these  Negroes  were  baptized  members  of 
the  church."  There  were  certainly  numbers  of  Negroes  baptized 
at  that  time.11  Baptism  in  the  Colonial  days  constituted  real 
membership  in  the  Established  Church  since  there  were  no 
Bishops  in  America  to  confirm  any,  whether  white  or  black. 
The  Established  Church  made  an  effort  (feeble  it  \vould  seem) 
yet  an  effort,  to  care  for  the  souls  of  the  Negroes.  An  impor 
tant  factor  is  here  often  overlooked  but  should  be  considered, 
the  Church  had  to  deal  with  the  Negroes  at  a  time  when  there 
were  only  a  limited  number  of  American  born  ones  among  them, 
and  even  these  were  often  inattentive,  careless  and  discouraging 
and  were  frequently  violently  perturbed  by  the  superstitions 
of  the  ones  freshly  imported.  Both  whites  and  blacks  suffered 


11.  Parish  Register,  St.  Peter's,  New  Kent  County,  Va. :  "Jno. 
a  negro  belonging  to  Mr.  Wm.  Clopton  bapt.  June  ye  25th,  1710," 
p.  5.  "Richard  a  negro  child  belonging  to  Capt.  Richd  Littlepage 
Baptized  August  ye  14th,  1711,"  p.  21. 

Abingdon  Parish,  Gloucester  County,  Va.:  "Elizabeth  a  negro 
belonging  to  John  Lewis.  Esq.  born  June  1st  baptd.  23d,  1716."  "Eliz 
abeth  a  negro  baptized  July  ye  8th,  1716,  belonging  to  Mann  Page 
Esq." 

These  entries  become  voluminous  as  the  years  roll  on.  The  ones 
here  quoted  are  only  a  few  chosen  from  the  many. 


34  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO 

too,  because  of  the  poor  quality  of  the  clergy  in  the  Colony  near 
the  beginning  of  this  century.  About  1720  the  clergymen  in 
Virginia  were  considered  bad,12  and  some  parishes  had  no  min 
ister  at  all.13  Virginia  had  72,000  Whites  and  23,000  Negroes 
in  1715.14  In  other  words  the  old  church  in  spite  of  tremendous 
odds  did  succeed  in  creating  the  taste  for  the  Christian  religion, 
and  endeavored  to  feed  the  babes  on  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
\Yord;  the  Presbyterians  gave  the  Negroes  a  course  in  solid 
food;  but  the  great,  joyful  banquet  was  spread  before  the  hun 
gering  and  thirsting  blacks  by  the  Baptists  and  Methodists  later 
on  in  the  century.  It  is  absurd  to  undervalue  any  of  the  factors 
active  in  the  religious  uplift.  It  seems,  however,  a  great  injus 
tice  to  historical  facts,  to  assert,  in  the  face  of  the  efforts  of 
Mr.  Commissary  Blair,  Rector  of  Bruton  Parish,  and  other 
Episcopal  rectors,  that  "it  was  as  late  as  1756  before  any  white 
minister  had  the  piety  and  courage  to  demand  instruction  for 
the  slaves."  15  The  Established  Church  did  much  more  work 
for  Negroes  than  it  has  ever  been  given  credit  for  doing. 

In  the  year  1724  the  Bishop  of  London  directed  inquiries  to 
the  clergy  in  Virginia  concerning  the  state  of  the  Church  and 
its  work.  One  question  was,  "Are  there  any  Infidels,10  bond 
or  free,  within  your  Parish ;  and  what  means  are  used  for  their 
conversion?"17  The  answers  returned  by  some  of  the  rectors 
are  very  interesting  and  instructive.  From  York  Hampton 
Parish,  York  County,  Fran.  Fontaine  replies,  "I  know  of  no 
Infidels  in  my  parish  except  Slaves.  I  exhort  their  Masters  to 
send  them  to  me,  to  be  instructed.  And  in  order  to  their  con 
version  I  have  set  apart  every  Saturday  in  the  Afternoon  and 
catechise  them  at  my  Glebe  House."  18  George  Robinson  wrote 
from  Bristol  Parish  in  the  upper  part  of  James  River:  "None 


12.  Perry — p.  257. 

13.  Perry — p.  25 — Governor  Drysdale's  letter  to  Bishop  of  London, 

14.  Chalmers'   Amer.    Colonies    II.   7.      Quoted   in    Campbell's   Hist, 
of  Va.,  p.  383,  note. 

15.  Williams  Hist,  of  the  Negro  Race  in  America,  p.  131. 

16.  Bishop  Meade,  Old  Churches,  Ministers,  Families,  p.  note  "In 
fidel  before   1730  in   Virginia  merely   meant   irreligious." 

17.  Colonial  Church— Perry. 

18.  Ibid.  p.  281. 


REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE    NEGRO  35 

that  I  know  of  except  Negro  slaves  and  a  few  Indian  Servants. 
I  have  several  times  exhorted  their  Masters  to  send  such  of 
them  as  could  speak  English  to  Church  to  be  catechised  but  they 
would  not.  Some  masters  instruct  their  Slaves  at  home,  and 
so  bring  them  to  Baptism,  but  not  many  such."  10  Emmanuel 
Jones  of  Petworths  Parish,  Gloucester  Co.,  answered:  "I  have 
no  Indians  in  my  parish,  but  those  several  Infidels,  Negro  slaves 
brought  from  Africa,  and  such  as  are  born  in  the  Country,  their 
masters  very  often  bring  them  to  read  and  send  them  to  the 
church  or  minister  to  be  further  instructed  that  they  may  be 
baptized,  and  many  are  so."  20  In  Elizabeth  City  Parish,  Eliza 
beth  City  County,21  "The  owners  are  generally  careful  to  in 
struct  those  that  are  capable  of  instruction  and  to  bring  them 
to  baptism."  Rev.  James  Falconer  found  it  impossible  to  in 
struct  the  newly-imported  ones  since  they  never  learned  to 
speak  or  understand  English  perfectly.  James  City  parish 22 
reports  much  the  same.  Air.  Thomas  Dell,  another  rector  com 
plains  of  the  distance  the  Negroes  have  to  come  and  cites  the 
fact  that  masters  would  not  always  let  their  slaves  have  horses.23 
At  Accomac  on  the  Eastern  Shore  many  Negroes  attended 
church  and  about  200  had  been  baptized.24  Commissary  James 
Blair,  of  Bruton  Parish,  Williamsburg,2-1  encouraged  catechising 
and  baptizing  the  English  speaking  ones,  and  their  owners  be 
came  sureties  for  them  at  baptism.  In  Washington  Parish  2G 
after  the  slaves  had  been  duly  instructed  they  were  admitted  to 
baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  An  abundance  of  such  evi 
dence  could  be  adduced,  but  the  foregoing  proves  that  some  ef 
forts  had  been  exerted  to  provide  for  the  Christian  education  of 
the  benighted  blacks.  It  is  further  true  that  some  masters 
were  exceedingly  careless  concerning  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
their  slaves  in  spite  of  the  good  examples  set  by  others.  The 


19.  Perry    Colonial    Churches,   p.   267. 

20.  Ibid   Colonial  Churches,  p.  287. 

21.  Ibid  Colonial  Churches,  p.  293. 

22.  Ibid  Colonial  Churches,  p.  265. 

23.  Perry   Colonial   Churches,  p.  255-256. 

24.  Ibid    Colonial   Churches,   p.   301. 

25.  Ibid    Colonial    Churches,   p.    299. 

26.  Perry  Colonial   Church,  p.  291. 


36  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

same  amount  of  energy,  if  expended  now,  would  perhaps 
start  a  Welsh  revival,  but  the  conditions  were  exceedingly  un 
favorable  in  the  country  during  Colonial  Virginia  days  for 
spreading  the  Gospel  among  them. 

The  act  of  1680  concerning  unlawful  meetings  of  slaves, 
we  may  be  sure,  was  not  directed  against  the  religious  im 
provement  of  slaves  nor  intended  to  prevent  them  attending 
church  in  company  with  their  masters.  In  the  early  days  ex 
cept  for  the  position  of  the  seats  in  church  and  the  order  of 
communing,  very  little  was  heard  of  the  color  line  in  things 
religious.  After  the  act  of  May,  1723,  there  could  not  possibly 
be  any  doubt  on  the  subject  of  desiring  the  church  attendance 
of  Negroes,  since  that  kind  of  assembly  was  expressly  ex- 
cepted  from  the  enactment  against  the  meetings  of  great  num 
bers  of  Negroes  and  other  slaves.  The  law  not  only  excepted 
their  Lord's  day  attendance  but  carried  no  prohibition  against 
meeting  at  other  times  stipulated  by  lawful  authority,  for  public 
worship.27 

Rev.  Hugh  Jones,  A.  M.,  sometime  Chaplain  to  the  Honor 
able  Assembly  and  minister  at  Jamestown  in  Virginia,  published 
a  book  in  London  in  1724  which  included  some  account  of  the 
English  and  Negro  inhabitants  of  the  colony.28  In  that  work  he 
stated  that  "Several  of  the  People"  disapprove  of  baptizing  In 
dians  and  Negroes  but  he  could  easily  refute  their  arguments, 
if  such  Indians  or  Negroes  are  good,  sensible,  understand  Eng 
lish,  have  been  taught  (or  are  willing  to  be  taught),  the  prin 
ciples  of  Christianity,  and  further,  if  such  Indians  or  Negroes 
are  kept  to  the  observance  of  Christianity  afterwards.  Chris 
tianity,  he  contended,  improved  them  as  servants.  He  had  no 
faith  in  baptizing  "wild  Indians  and  new  Negroes"  who  "ob 
stinately  persist  in  their  own  barbarous  ways"  since  to  do  so 
aroused  within  him  a  question  as  to  whether  it  was  not  "a  Pros 
titution  of  a  Thing  so  sacred." 

In  the  same  year  that  Hugh  Jones  issued  his  book,  a  very 
notable  proposition  was  made  by  Commissary  Blair  for  encour 
aging  the  Christian  Education  of  Indians,  Negroes  and  Mulatto 


27.  Hening,   Vol.    IV,   pp.    128,    129. 

28.  The  Present  State  of  Virginia  Hugh  Jones  pp.  70,  71. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO  37 

Children.29  In  this,  the  imported  slaves  are  recognized  as  being 
"much  more  indocile,"  because  of  their  failure  to  understand 
English,  than  the  young  slaves  born  in  the  Colony.  If  the  young 
slave  be  baptized  and  be  able  to  give  a  good  account  of  the 
Creed,  Lord's  Prayer  and  Ten  Commandments  in  Open  Church, 
before  he  is  fourteen  years  of  age,  his  master  shall  receive  a 
certificate  and  this  slave  will  be  exempted  from  taxation  while 
between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen.  Of  course,  slaves 
who  were  not  baptized  and  were  unable  to  understand  these  mat 
ters  of  faith  were  to  be  subject  to  taxation  at  fourteen  years  of 
age.  The  Commissary  concludes  his  proposition:  "It  is  humbly 
supposed  the  advantage  of  4  years'  difference  in  levies  \vill  have 
great  effects  to  this  purpose."  Surely  this  matter  of  exempting 
Christian  Xegroes  from  taxes  for  a  period,  was  nothing  more 
than  a  proposition  to  pay  the  slave  owners  the  equivalent  of  four 
years'  taxes  to  have  their  slaves  made  Christians.  It  was  fun 
damentally  a  proposition  to  put  the  State  into  the  business  of  pay 
ing  for  Christians  at  so  much  per  head.  It  was  a  crude  \vay  to 
make  Christians,  yet  it  was  not  a  very  surprising  proposal  ac 
cording  to  the  economists  of  that  day,  who,  so  frequently  saw 
things  only  in  terms  of  pounds,  shillings  and  pence.30  It 
sounded,  however,  as  if  the  Commissary  were  at  his  wit's  end. 
So  far  as  is  known  nothing  came  of  the  great  proposition.  Bap 
tisms  took  place  with  greater  frequency,  but  the  state  did  not 
pay  for  the  slave-owner's  godliness  or  the  righteousness  of  the 
slaves.  In  the  light  of  this  proposition  it  should  be  very  evident 
that  the  Negro's  religious  training  was  not  ideal ;  yet  this  is 
very  different  from  asserting  that  nothing  was  done  for  the  Ne 
gro  at  all. 

In  the  mass  of  contradictory  evidence  of  this  period  we  can 
be  certain  that  something  was  done  and  something  was  left 
undone.  How  like  a  voice  in  the  present  speaks  Mr.  Lang  in 


29.  Perry   Colonial   Church   Papers,  p.   344. 

30.  Commissary   Blair   urged   upon   Seymour,   the   British   Attorney- 
General,   the  necessity  of  a  grant  of  two  thousand  pounds   to   estab 
lish   a  college  in  Virginia  to   train  young  men   for  the   ministry;   and 
even  ventured  to  remind  him  that  the  people  of  Virginia  had  souls. 
"Souls,"  cried  Seymour,  "damn  your  souls.     Make  tobacco."     Quoted  in 
foot-note  of  R.   R.   Howison's   History  of   Va.,  pp.   157,   158. 


38  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF    THE    NEGRO 

1726.  In  a  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  he  refers  to  the 
fondness  of  some  persons  for  bringing  Negro  servants  to  Bap 
tism  as  soon  as  they  know  the  Creed,  Lord's  Prayer  and  Com 
mandments ;  and  then  goes  on  to  state  that  the  Negroes  after 
that  live  sometimes  without  marriage  ties  or  common  decency, 
just  as  if  they  were  pagans  instead  of  Christians.31  The  God 
fathers  and  Godmothers,  too,  often  fail  to  perform  their  proper 
duties  because  of  ignorance.  His  message  is  not  new;  it  is  not 
old ;  it  is  universal.  It  is  almost  unquestionable  that  the  same 
breach  between  profession  and  performance  has  ever  existed 
and  ever  wrill,  with  varying  degrees  of  success  in  approaching 
the  ideal.  His  complaint  sounds  like  one  heard  on  the  rostrum 
crying  against  wickedness,  yet  offering  no  way  out.  Undoubt 
edly  many  an  Elijah  in  those  days  believed  that  he  was  the  only 
one  left  to  bow  the  knee,  and  would  have  been  surprised,  had  he 
looked  around  him  and  seen  the  many  righteous. 

The  Princess  Anne  County  Records  for  1727  show  that  David 
James,  a  Negro  boy,  was  ordered  to  be  bound  to  Mr.  James 
Isadel,  "who  is  to  teach  him  to  read  ye  bible  distinctly  also  ye 
trade  of  a  gunsmith  that  he  carry  him  to  ye  Clark's  office  & 
take  indenture  to  that  purpose."  :{2  This  custom  of  including 
Bible  training  in  the  indenture  for  apprenticeship  was  not  un 
common  and  was  a  very  praiseworthy  one,  since  it  must  have 
lead  to  the  dissemination  of  Christian  education  to  some  extent. 
In  the  midst  of  the  primaeval  darkness  of  the  African  mind 
even  a  little  spiritual  light  meant  progress. 

Among  the  big  planters  of  an  early  day  many  had  a  sincejre 
interest  in -the  religious  welfare  of  their  servants.  For  instance 
Mr.  Robert  Carter,  known  as  "King"  Carter  of  "Corotoman," 
rebuilt  the  historic  Christ's  Church  of  Lancaster  County  about 
1732.3-3  The  agreement  on  the  vestry  book  showed  that  he  re 
served  one-fourth  of  the  building  for  his  tenants  and  servants. 
Such  consideration  for  his  dependents  as  Mr.  Carter  showed  is 
illustrative  of  the  endeavors  of  the  better  class  of  masters  in 
caring  for  their  slaves  religiously. 


31.  Perry— Colonial  Church  Papers,  pp.  346-348. 

32.  Princess    Anne    Court    Records    cited    in    Va.    Mag.    of    History 
Vol.   II,  p.  429. 

33.  Meade  Old   Churches,  Vol.   II,  p.  116. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE    NEGRO  39 

The  fact  that  there  were  two  or  more  kinds  of  masters,  the 
good,  bad  and  indifferent,  must  not  be  forgotten  in  studying  the 
relationship  of  the  two  races  before  1865.  This  fact,  too,  must 
be  remembered:  the  Negro  was  not  merely  to  have  religion 
poured  into  him,  after  the  fashion  which  we  adopt  in  giving  f 
medicine  to  children,  but  there  was  a  tremendous  responsibility 
on  him  to  show  a  life  that  proved  the  presence  of  Christianity 
in  his  heart.  Failure  to  do  this,  would  discourage  many  a  slave 
holder,  doubtful  as  to  the  ability  of  the  slave  to  assimilate  the 
strength-giving  parts  of  religion.  That  there  was  some  cause  to 
doubt  the  efficacy  of  religious  influences  upon  him  may  be  seen 
by  the  following  legislation.  The  slaves,  as  the  preamble  to  an 
act  of  the  Burgesses  of  1732,  forbidding  slaves  to  serve  as  wit 
nesses  except  in  the  trial  of  another  slave  for  a  capital  offense, 
recites,  had  hitherto  been  privileged  to  serve  as  witnesses  after 
they  had  professed  Christianity  and  had  been  able  to  give  some 
account  of  Christian  principles,  "but  forasmuch  as  they  are 
people  of  such  base  and  corrupt  natures,  that  the  credit  of  their 
testimony  cannot  be  certainly  depended  upon"  the  privilege  of 
serving  as  witnesses  save  as  specified  in  the  preamble  above  was 
denied  to  them  after  this  time.34 

Doubtless  those  who  were  supposed  to  be  interested  in  the 
instruction  of  Negroes  met  much  to  discourage  them,  much  to 
weaken  their  faith.  In  a  letter  which  the  Rev.  Charles  Bridges 
of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  Hanover  County,  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of 
London,  the  reverend  old  gentleman  in  Virginia  felt  that  he 
.needed  encouragement  in  securing  funds  for  instructing  Ne 
groes.  He  complained  that  both  he  and  the  Commissary  grew 
old  in  years  and  the  world  began  to  hang  heavy  on  them.  He 
aroused  himself  from  a  nap  and  called  upon  the  Commissary; 
but  sleep  had  claimed  him  by  that  time  and  then  he  was  ready  to 
fall  asleep  again  himself.35  What  could  possibly  be  expected  of 
sleepy  old  men  in  such  a  cause?  The  most  intelligent,  mission 
ary  secretaries  of  the  present  day  would  have  found  tremen 
dous  obstacles  in  their  way  to  perform  the  great  task  of  Chris 
tianizing  the  Negroes ;  yet  these  agents  were  so  old  and  so 
lacking  in  enthusiasm  in  the  work  that  they  fell  asleep  while 


34.  Hening,  Vol.   IV,  p.  327. 

35.  Meade   Old   Churches,   Vol.    I,   p.   419. 


40  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

talking  on  the  subject.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  these  men 
had  an  interest  in  the  Negroes — Commissary  Blair's  attitude 
during  his  younger  years  proved  his  devotion  to  the  cause — but, 
if  it  be  assumed  even  for  a  second,  that  these  men  were  the 
leaders,  how  feeble  must  have  been  the  efforts  of  those  that 
they  led.  Yet,  "many  of  the  colored  children  were  baptized 
and  some  of  them  taught  the  catechism,"  in  spite  of  the  depres 
sion  of  this  period,  which  may  so  well  be  likened  to  the  last  days 
of  the  wanderings  of  the  Children  of  Israel  in  the  \Yilderness. 
New  leaders  and  a  new  spirit  were  needed,  if  they  were  to  reach 
the  Promised  Land. 

Rev.  Anthony  Gavin  was  a  type  of  the  virile  manhood  of  his 
day  which  was  destined  to  bring  things  to  pass  for  the  Ne 
groes'  uplift.  Other  men  such  as  he  must  have  been  in  the 
Established  Church.  This  man  was  given  an  easy  Parish,  but 
the  challenge  of  a  hard,  frontier  Parish  attracted  his  attention. 
He  went  to  serve  it,  and  on  his  first  journey  from  end  to  end 
of  it,  baptized  229  whites,  172  blacks,  15  Quakers  and  2  Ana 
baptists.30  This  was  in  1738.  In  1742  Elijah  Baker  was  born 
in  Lunenburg  County. 37  The  birth  of  this  man  is  notable  since 
he  as  a  Baptist  elder  became  a  power  in  the  country  between 
Richmond  and  Hampton,  and  undoubtedly  influenced  many  Ne 
groes  to  be  baptized.  In  1743  a  young  Scotchman  came  into 
Hanover  County  with  a  book  of  Whitefield's  sermons.  Several 
persons  read  them  and  soon  a  small  congregation  was  formed. 
Samuel  Davies  was  sent  down  to  Virginia  by  the  Presbytery  as 
the  pastor  for  these  people  and  in  a  few  years  had  a  flourishing 
work  started  which  extended  from  Hanover  into  Henrico,  Gooch- 
land,  Caroline  and  Louisa  Counties.38  The  Rev.  John  Todd, 


36.  Perry— Colonial    Church    Papers,   pp.   3GO,    361. 

37.  James   B.  Taylor,   Lives  of  Ya.   Baptist   Ministers,  p.   142. 

38.  Foote's    Sketches.      Also    see, 

Letters  from  the  Rev.  Samuel  Davies  and  Others;  shewing,  The 
State  of  RELIGION  in  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  &c.  PARTICU 
LARLY  among  the  NEGROES. 

PROV.  XXV,  25. 
As  cold  water  to  a  thirsty  Soul,  so  is  good  News  from  a  far  Country. 

LONDON. 

Printed  by  J.  and  W.  Oliver,  in   Bartholomew — Close 

MDCCLXI 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF    THE    NEGRO  41 

another  Presbyterian,  also  came  into  Hanover,  and  their  arrival 
marks  an  epoch  in  the  religious  development  of  the  Negro.  These 
men  were  willing  and  anxious  to  aid  the  Negro.  Perhaps  they 
took  courage  from  the  Apostle  Paul's  words  reminding  the  Cor 
inthians  that  "not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble,  are  called."  At  any  rate  they  felt  that 
the  work  among  the  Negroes  was  an  opportunity  for  real  service 
and  they  grasped  the  opportunity. 

Bishop  McTyeire  of  the  Methodist  Church,  referring  to  the 
work  of  Rev.  Samuel  Davies  in  Hanover  County,  tells  of  the 
Presbyterian  minister's  arrival  there  in  1747  with  a  license  from 
the  General  Court  to  preach  at  four  meeting-houses,  and  then 
eulogizes  his  efforts  in  this  striking  language :  "The  work  was 
such  as  angels  might  approve."  In  a  few  years  the  young  divine 
had  gathered  about  three  hundred  communicants,  had  instructed 
many  Negroes,  and  had  baptized  forty/39  In  a  letter  to  Dr. 
Doddridge  dated  Oct.  2nd,  1750,  Rev.  Davies  states  that  num 
bers  of  Negroes  have  been  proselyted  to  Christianity  and  bap 
tized.  These  seem  to  be  "the  genuine  seed  of  Abraham  by 
Faith."  A  few  of  them  he  permitted  to  partake  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  "Sundry  Catechisms"  he  expected  to  add  to  the  Church 
at  some  later  day.40  With  the  burning  desire  of  the  Negroes  to 
learn  of  Christ  we  may  be  assured  that  such  a  character  as  Rev. 
Mr.  Davies  lost  no  opportunities  to  ground  these  blacks  in  the 
fundamental  truths  of  Scripture.  Rev.  Mr.  John  Todd  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Wright  were  also  participants  in  this  good  work.  They  re 
port  in  a  series  of  letters  to  Messrs.  Joseph  and  Benjamin  For- 
fitt  of  London  the  great  work  that  is  in  progress  among  the 
Negroes.41  The  Messrs.  Forfitt  had  been  sending  books  to  Vir 
ginia  and  the  Presbyterian  Ministers  were  literally  besieged  by 
whites  and  blacks  to  get  one  or  more,  when  a  consignment  was 
ready  for  distribution.  These  letters  were  written  between  1758 
and  1761.  All  of  them  find  the  neglect  of  the  Negroes,  in  things 
religious,  appalling.  Mr.  Davies  knows  of  only  one  minister 
within  two  hundred  miles  of  Hanover  zealous  in  that  work ; 


39.  History  of  Methodism.   H.    N.   McTyeire,   p.   233. 

40.  Perry— Colonial    Church    Papers,    pp.    368-371. 

41.  "Letters    from    the    Rev.    Samuel    Davies    and    others." 


42  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF    THE    NEGRO 

Negroes  are  generally  instructed  or  left  uninstructed  according 
to  the  character  of  the  clergy.42  Baptisms  continue  and  most 
of  the  Negroes  act  as  "becometh  Christians,"  but  some  fail. 
He  delights  especially  in  looking  up  at  the  Slave  gallery  and  there 
seeing  the  Negroes  who  can  read  assisting  the  beginners  in  find 
ing  places  in  their  hymn-books,  and  "then  all  breaking  out  in  a 
torrent  of  sacred  harmony,  enough  to  bear  away  the  whole 
congregation  to  heaven."  43 

Mr.  Todd  finds  that  by  1758  some  of  the  Negroes  can  read 
the  Bible ;  others  are  beginning  to  read ;  others  can  spell ;  and 
still  others  are  just  learning  the  alphabet.  The  conditions  among 
them  are  vastly  improved.  The  former  desecration  of  the  Sab 
bath  by  "frolicking,  dancing,  and  other  profane  courses"  has 
been  supplanted  by  attending  Church,  learning  to  read  in  their 
homes,  praying,  and  singing  God's  praises.  Their  appearance 
as  "affectionate  serious  Christians"  at  the  communion  table  was 
considered  especially  inspiring.44  The  Rev.  Mr.  Wright  reported 
the  Negroes  anxious  for  books  and  thought  them  as  eminent 
Christians  as  he  served.  The  religious  ones  among  them,  he 
considered,  "the  most  docile,  unenthusiastic  converts"  he  had 
ever  read  of  or  seen.  Although  his  work  was  not  progressing 
very  well  among  the  whites,  he  found  much  solace  in  his  work 
for  the  blacks.  The  harvests  were  so  abundant  in  Virginia  that 
he  feared  neither  the  masters  nor  the  slaves  would  have  much 
time  to  devote  to  their  books  during  that  particular  year.45  In 
1761,  he  could  report  that  between  thirty  and  forty  of  Colonel 
Cary's  Negroes  were  under  religious  impressions.  The  Negroes' 
struggles  after  godliness  were  truly  inspiring.  Capt.  Bell,  a 
brother-in-law  of  Colonel  Cary,  found  his  slaves  benefited  by 
preaching  and  the  learning.  His  slaves  came  seventeen  miles  to 
reach  Mr.  Wright's  nearest  preaching  place.  The  slaves  were 
especially  anxious  for  "Dr.  Watt's  Psalms  and  Hymns." 

With  such  facts  before  them  how  could  the  Messrs.  Forfitt 
refuse  to  send  more  books?  These  letters  give  us  a  valuable 


42.  "Letters   from   the   Rev.   Samuel  Davies  and   others,"   pp.   8,  9. 

43.  Ibid.   p.   14. 

44.  Davies'  Letters,  pp.  15,  16,  23,  24.     Also  Foote's  Sketches,  p.  47. 

45.  Davies'   Letters,  pp.    11,   12,   18,   19,   28,  29. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  43 

insight  into  the  life  of  that  day.  They  are  to  be  read,  however, 
with  these  facts  before  us :  First,  the  Episcopal  Clergy  were  not 
over-friendly  to  the  Presbyterians,  and  the  lack  of  friendliness 
was  very  probably  retaliated;  and  secondly,  these  letters  were 
sent  to  London  to  encourage  the  sending  of  more  books,  hence 
the  need  for  them  was  made  very  plain.  There  can  be  no  doubt, 
however,  of  the  great  work  done  by  these  early  Presbyterians. 
The  Negroes  not  only  flocked  to  their  services,  but  the  white 
masters  who  attended  were  compelled  to  hear  the  doctrine  of 
enlightenment  and  conversion  for  their  slaves  from  the  lips  of 
men  who  could  present  the  facts  forcefully.  In  the  midst  of 
the  dread  of  a  slave  uprising  in  connection  with  the  French  and 
Indian  War,  Christianity  for  the  Negroes  was  urged  as  the  one 
sure  protection  from  such  a  horrible  probability. 

There  is  a  curiosity  implanted  in  many  that  causes  us  to 
enjoy  looking  into  the  private  thoughts  of  others  as.  expressed 
in  diaries.  The  following  extracts  from  the  diary  of  Col.  James 
Gordon,  a  staunch  Presbyterian  of  Lancaster  County,  show  the 
interest  of  a  private  individual  in  the  Negroes : 

"July  15,  1759,  Lilla  C.  and  Molly  went  to  Church.  I  read 
a  sermon  to  the  Negroes.  P.  107. 

"August  23,  1759,  Gave  several  books  among  the  Negroes. 
P.  108. 

"Aug.  24,  1759.  Went  to  meeting  to-day,  where  we  all  parted 
with  Mr.  Todd.  Our  Negroes  have  attended  sermons  these  four 
days.  P.  109. 

"Dec.  25,  1759.  Some  of  our  Negroes  got  drunk,  that  has 
given  me  some  uneasiness.46  P.  112. 

"May  26,  1760.  Went  to  meeting  to-day — a  pretty  large  com 
pany  of  the  common  people  &  negroes,  but  very  few  gentlemen. 
The  gentlemen  that  even  incline  to  come  are  afraid  of  being 
laughed  at.  Mr.  Minis  [one  of  the  Parsons]  endeavors  to  make 
it  a  scandalous  thing.  P.  199. 

"Dec.  27,  1760.  Went  to  meeting — heard  Mr.  Hunt  at  night. 
Mr.  Caldwell  preached — seventy  or  eighty  of  the  negroes  there. 
Blessed  be  my  God  &  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  these  are  comfortable 


46.  Wm.   and   Mary    Quarterly,   Vol.    XI,    No.   2. 


44  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

times — tho'  I  have  had  the  tooth-ache  &  headache  for  these 
three  weeks  near.  P.  205. 

"Sunday  16  Aug.  1761.  Several  strange  negroes  came  to 
Mr.  Criswell  to  be  instructed  in  which  he  takes  great  pains. 
P.  222. 

"Sept.  22.  17'61.  Making  out  lottery  scheme  to  raise  £300  for 
our  meeting  house.47  P.  224. 

"April  24,  1763.  This  day  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered 
to  about  90  whites  &  23  blacks,  more  than  we  ever  had  before 
a  vast  number  of  people.48  P.  4. 

"Aug.  26,  1763.  This  evening  I  had  the  comfort  of  receiving 
a  letter  from  Rev.  George  II' kite  field  who  landed  this  day  at 
Urbana.  P.  8. 

"Sept.  4,  1763.  Mr.  Whitefield  preached  to  a  crowded  house. 
Mr.  YV  was  obliged  to  make  the  negroes  go  out  to  make  room 
for  the  white  people.  Several,  black  &  white  could  not  get 
room.  P.  8. 

"Sept.  11,  1763.  The  Lord's  Supper  was  administered  to 
about  115  white  &  85  black  communicants.  P.  9. 

"Xmas  Sunday  1763.  [Several]  went  with  us  to  meeting, 
where  Mr.  Waddell49  administered  the  sacrament  to  about  130 
black  &  white."  P.  10. 

Another  important  Journal  is  that  written  by  the  interesting, 
straight-laced  Presbyterian  from  the  Xorth,  Philip  Yickers  Fith- 
ian,  who  came  into  the  aristocratic  life  of  Councillor  Carter's 
family  at  Xomini  Hall,  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia  and 
served  there  as  tutor  during  the  years  1773-1774.  The  gay  life 
in  Virginia  shocked  him  while  at  the  same  time  interesting  him 
thoroughly.  From  a  Journal  50  which  Fithian  kept,  many  inter 
esting  facts  concerning  Xegroes  during  colonial  times  may  be 
gleaned.  On  Sunday,  Jan.  30th,  1774,  he  dispersed  a  large 


47.  Wm.   and   Mary    Quarterly,    Vol.    XI,   No.    3. 

48.  Wm.  and  Mary  Quarterly,  Vol.  XII,  No.   1. 

49.  Mr.   Waddell   was   a   blind   preacher.      Settled   in   Lancaster   and 
Northumberland    Counties    from    1762    to    1788.      He    married    one    of 
Col.    Gordon's   daughters.     See    Foote's   Sketches   in   Virginia,    I,    307- 
387. 

50.  Philip  Vickers  Fithian.     Journals  and   Letters. 


REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  45 

crowd  of  the  Negroes,  and  two  of  the  Carter  boys,  found  danc 
ing  in  his  schoolroom.  On  Easter  Sunday  all  came  out  "High, 
Low,  Black,  White,"  but  on  Easter  Monday,  a  holiday,  the  Ne 
groes  had  dispersed  to  cock  fights  in  the  country.  Sunday  ob 
servance,  or  rather  the  lack  of  it,  was  especially  shocking  to  him 
and  he  makes  out  a  case  favorable  to  the  better  observance  in 
the  North.  The  Negroes  worked  their  plots  of  ground,  had  cock 
fights,  cut  wood,  etc.,  on  Sunday  he  claimed,  and  "by  five  o'clock 
on  Saturday  every  face  (especially  the  Negroes)  looks  festive 
and  cheerful — all  the  lower  class  of  People,  &  the  Servants  & 
the  Slaves,  consider  it  as  a  Day  of  Pleasure  &  amusement,  & 
spend  it  in  such  Diversion,  as  they  severally  chose."  Old  Dadda 
Gumby,  however,  was  too  much  for  the  young  Presbyterian  when 
he  chided  him  for  staying  away  from  church  because  of  hot 
weather,  while  he,  though  only  an  old  Negro,  loved  the  Lord 
enough  to  go  to  church  on  foot.  It  would  seem  therefore  that 
at  least  one  old  Negro  was  alive  to  carry  forward  the  banner 
in  spite  of  the  supposed  iniquities. 

The  baptisms  had  now  even  before  the  coming  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Davies,  and  his  colleagues,  grown  very  frequent  in  Virginia.51 
In  the  old  record  book  of  B niton  Parish,  there  are  1,122  Negro 
baptisms  recorded  between  1746  and  1797.52  George  Wash 
ington,  who  owned  slaves  in  the  Parish,  had  eleven  of  his  Ne 
groes  baptized  between  1762  and  1768  inclusive.  Mr.  Frederick 
Bryan,  Jr.,  had  two  Negroes  baptized  in  the  latter  year,  and  their 
entry  on  the  Register  constituted  an  unusually  interesting  array 


51.  Albemarle    Parish. — Sussex    County. 

Name — Sex — Owner's    Name — given    in    month    day    yr.    Christened 

By  whom         Born 

Tom     a     boy    Wm.     Pettway       same       Deer.     15     1740     July    3,    1757 
Ede    a    girl    Sylvanus    Stokes    same    Jany    29    174^    6th    Jany    174  5/6 

3    sureties 
Lucy    a    girl    William    Cook        same        April    23    1742    May    5th    1742 

3  sureties 

Sam    a    boy    Capt.    Gee          same          Novr.    20    1742    Deer.    12th.    1742 
Will  a  boy  Robt.   Nicholson       same       March  19  174^   Sept.  23,   1744 
As  the  years  roll  on  whole  pages  of  the  register  are  taken  up  by 
the  names  of  Negroes. 

52.  Historical    Sketch    of    Bruton    Church — W.    A.    R.    Goodwin,    p. 
153. 


46  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

of  names:  "April  10th  1768.  Adam  &  Eve:  Twins,  Son  and 
Daughter  of  Sail,  Belonging  to  Frederick  Bryan,  Jr."  Public 
opinion  had  become  set  on  this  subject,  at  least,  and  the  days  of 
doubt  were  over.  Henceforward  through  this  century  the  Ne 
gro  is  entrusted  with  more  and  more  liberty  while  in  the  pursuit 
of  things  religious.  The  Christian  Negro  was  a  fixture  in  our 
civilization.  Optimism  had  at  last  supplanted  pessimism. 

In  1747-48,  some  Moravians  or  United  Brethren  from  Beth 
lehem,  Pa.,  undertook  long  and  tedious  journeys  through  Mary 
land,  Virginia  and  the  borders  of  North  Carolina  for  the  pur 
pose  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  Negroes.  The  blacks  eagerly 
received  their  messages.  The  proprietors  of  the  slaves,  however, 
did  not  care  for  strangers  to  instruct  their  Negroes,  since  they 
had  their  own  ministers  paid  to  do  the  work.  This  opposition 
on  the  part  of  the  slave-owners  caused  the  Moravians  to  desist 
from  their  efforts  in  this  direction.53 

The  Quakers  were  among  the  most  consistent  friends  of  the 
Negro.  We  have  noticed  in  the  previous  chapter,  the  work  of 
George  Fox  and  William  Edmundson  in  the  Barbadoes  for  the 
religious  training  of  the  Negroes,  rnd  we  know  that  the  influ 
ence  of  these  pioneers  was  never  lost  on  later  generations. 

John  W^oolman  when  travelling  in  Virginia  in  1757  came  to 
the  Western  Branch  Yearly  meeting — between  Smithfield  and 
Suffolk — and  there  declared  in  a  spirited  speech  that  he  was 
interested  in  the  slaves  and  believed  that  if  the  people  were  di 
vested  of  selfishness,  the  same  good  spirit  that  gave  the  Scrip 
tures  would  engage  them  to  teach  the  Negroes  how  to  read  in 
order  that  the  slaves  might  be  benefited  by  reading  God's  Holy 
Word.54  The  Friends  Discipline  which  is  authoritative,  also 
sounds  a  certain  note  in  favor  of  Christianizing  the  Negro.  In 
1759  it  says :  "And  it  is  the  desire  &  advice  of  this  Meeting  that 
none  amongst  us  be  Concerned  in  the  Importing  Negro  Slaves 
from  their  own  Country  or  elsewhere,  &  that  all  Friends  who  have 
any  of  them,  do  treat  them  with  humanity,  and  in  a  Christian 
manner,  &  as  much  as  in  them  Lies,  make  them  acquainted  with 
the  Principles  of  the  Christian  Religion,  &  inculcate  Morality 


53.  Gospel  among  the   Slaves.     Harrison   and   Barnes.    P.   48. 

54.  Life   and  Travels   of  John  Woolman,   pp.    66,   67. 


REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  47 

in  them."  55  The  revisions  .of  the  Discipline  in  1806  and  1821 
declare  that  all  the  Negroes  hel'd  in  Friends'  families  were  to  be 
treated  with  kindness;  and  as  objects  of  the  common  salvation 
were  to  be  taught  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  etc.56. 

There  is  always  the  possibility  that  some  may  so  far  forget 
the  provisions  for  church  attendance  during  the  eighteenth  cen 
tury  as  to  labor  under  the  impression  that  simply  because  the 
Negroes  had  practically  no  separate  churches,  therefore  they, 
had  no  chance  to  develop  their  religious  natures.  Such  a  suppo 
sition  is  incorrect.  Almost  any  reference  to  the  religious  life, 
of  the  Negro  during  the  colonial  days  makes  mention  of  the  free 
attendance  of  the  blacks  in  the  white  churches.  Of  course  in. 
the  early  days  there  were  poor  heating  arrangements  in  the 
churches — none  in  some — and  this  made  church  going  something 
of  a  hardship  in  winter.  It  even  makes  us  shiver  now  to  think 
of  sitting  in  such  cold,  damp  places  for  sermons  one  and  two^ 
hours  long.  From  the  present  tendency  of  the  Negro  to  prefer 
heat  to  cold,  we  may  surmise  that  not  a  very  great  percent  of 
them  struggled  through  the  mud  of  midwinter  roads  in  Virginia, 
only  to  reach  a  church,  cold  and  damp,  in  which  the  minister 
would  warn  his  flock  to  escape  the  discomforts  of  everlasting 
fire !  That  the  summer  attendance  was  good  we  have  no  occa-, 
sion  to  doubt.  The  social  feature  of  the  country  church  meant 
much  even  when  the  preaching  was  poor. 

A  very  interesting  letter  written  in  April,  1765,  is  preserved, 
which  gives  an  account  of  Mr.  Whitefield  preaching  in  old  Bland- 
ford  Church,  Bristol  Parish.57  Mr.  W.  G.  Stanard,  Secretary 
and  Librarian  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society,  believes  that 
the  writer  of  this  letter  was  Mr.  Robert  Boiling  of  Chellow, 
who,  as  a  great-great-grandson  of  the  Princess  Pocahontas^ 
wielded  his  literary  tomahawk  with  as  great  dexterity  as  his 
Indian  ancestors  did  theirs  of  stone.  Mr.  Whitefield's  sermon 
was  evidently  disgusting  to  that  writer  and  he  is  especially  sar 
castic  in  ridiculing  Mr.  Whitefield's  efforts  to  shed  tears.  The. 
lamentations  of  the  Africans  in  the  gallery,  he  claimed,  are  sup- 


55.  Ms.    Discipline    of   1759. 

56.  Discipline  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends  Held  in  Baltimore. 

57.  Rev.  P.  Slaughter — A  History  of  Bristol  Parish,  Va.,  pp.  23-26, 


48  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  NEGRO 

posed  to  have  relieved  the  eminent  divine  from  the  drudgery  of 
weeping  himself,  but  the  objection  was  then  urged  that  such  a 
course  was  unjustifiable  as  contrary  to  the  Scriptual  injunction 
against  causing  others  to  labor  on  the  Sabbath.  There  can  be 
no  question  that  Negroes  were  constantly  in  attendance  at  the 
white  churches  on  preaching  days,  and  further,  were  considered 
very  sympathetic  listeners. 

The  letters  of  Rev.  Thomas  Rankin  in  1776  show  that  the 
audiences  that  sat  under  his  preaching  were  intensely  emotional 
and  also  mixed/'8  On  Sunday,  June  30th,  1776,  he  relates  that 
hundreds  fell  out  on  the  floor  and  on  all  sides  were  nothing  but 
streaming  eyes,  faces  bathed  with  tears  and  nothing  was  audible 
but  groans  and  cries  after  God  and  the  Redeemer.  "The  Chapel 
was  full  of  white  and  black."  On  Sunday,  July  7th,  when  preach 
ing  near  the  home  of  Rev.  Devereux  Jarratt,  he  was  frequently 
compelled  to  stop  his  sermon  and  beg  the  people  to  compose 
themselves.  His  pleading  was  in  vain :  some  were  on  their 
knees,  some  on  their  faces,  some  were  "crying  mightily  to  God," 
hundreds  of  Negroes  were  amctng  them  with  the  tears  streaming 
down  their  black  cheeks.  At  Ronoaky  Chapel  where  he  preached 
on  Sunday,  July  21,  more  than  twice  as  many  persons  were  pres 
ent  as  could  be  accommodated  in  the  house.  "In  general,  the 
white  people  were  within  the  Chapel,  and  the  Black  People  with 
out.  The  windows  being  all  open,  everyone  could  hear,  and 
hundreds  felt  the  word  of  God."  This  last  passage  was  quoted 
in  order  that  the  first  of  the  two  sentences  would  not  stand  alone, 
and  permit  some  to  continue  to  distort  the  facts  in  the  case. 
The  first  part  of  this  passage  has  been  frequently  quoted  to 
prove  that  the  whites  cared  little  for  the  religious  training  of  the 
blacks,  by  intimating  that  those  outside  could  not  hear  the 
spoken  word ;  but  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rankin  shows  such  inferences 
to  be  false  by  the  explanation  that  all  could  hear.  Judging  by 
the  experiences  of  some  of  our  friends  who  have  attended  great, 
packed  meetings  in  midsummer,  even  in  these  days  of  soap  and 
civilization,  those  who  were  outside  had  chosen  the  better  part. 


58.  Pp.  30,  31.     Brief  Narrative  of  the   Revival  of  Religion  in  Vir 
ginia. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF    THE    NEGRO  49 

The  Methodists  early  went  on  record  as  opposed  to  slavery. 
It  was  John  Wesley  who  uttered  that  much  quoted  sentence : 
"Slavery  is  the  sum  of  all  villainies."  The  early  Methodists 
came  from  England  and  had  no  understanding  of  the  slavery 
system  as  it  existed  in  Virginia,  but  attacked  it  nevertheless. 
The  slave-owners  were  soon  incensed  at  this  and  forbade  the 
Methodists  admittance  to  their  plantations  to  teach  their  Ne 
groes.  Thus,  their  religious  work  was  badly  handicapped  at  the 
outset/™  The  Methodists,  however,  bravely  stuck  to  their  task 
of  Christianizing  the  Negroes.  In  1780  a  Conference  called  in 
Baltimore  required  the  traveling  preachers  to  set  free  any  slaves 
they  might  possess.00  Similar  legislation  followed.  The  crown 
ing  glory  of  the  position  of  the  Methodists,  however,  is  seen  in  a 
query  and  an  answer  in  1787.  Query:  "What  directions  shall 
we  give  for  the  promotion  of  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  colored 
people?"  Answer:  "We  conjure  all  our  ministers  and  preach 
ers,  by  the  love  of  God,  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  do  require 
them,  by  all  the  authority  that  is  invested  in  us,  to  leave  nothing 
undone  for  the  spiritual  benefit  and  salvation  of  them,  within 
their  respective  circuits  or  districts ;  and  for  this  purpose  to 
embrace  every  opportunity  for  enquiring  into  the  state  of  their 
souls,  and  to  unite  in  Society  those  who  appear  to  have  a  real 
desire  of  fleeing  from  the  wrath  to  come;  to  meet  such  in  class, 
and  to  exercise  the  whole  Methodist  discipline  among  them."  G1 
This  was  a  positive  policy  for  energetically  Christianizing  Ne 
groes. 

The  Quakers  after  making  a  good  beginning  were  seriously 
discredited  in  their  work  in  Virginia  after  their  failure  to  par 
ticipate  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  They  had,  like  the  Method 
ists,  early  taken  a  stand  against  slavery.  Their  sphere  was  some 
what  limited,  but  they  did  well  within  that  sphere.  In  1781 
and  1782  and  later  on,  they  appointed  committees  to  care  for  the 
Education  and  Religious  Instruction  of  Negroes  set  free  as  well 


59.  Asbury's   Journal,    Vol.    II,    p.    71;    Vol.    III.   pp.    253.    257;    Ben 
nett,   p.   547. 

60.  History  of  Methodism— H.    N.   McTyeire,   p.   375. 

61.  Ibid.,   p.    381. 

—4 


50  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF    THE    NEGRO 

as  those  still  held  in  bondage.02  This  matter  became  of  so  great 
importance  that  the  Baltimore  Yearly  Meetings  with  jurisdiction 
over  Virginia,  in  1785,  1790,  1791,  1793  and  1808  instructed  its 
delegates  to  take  up  and  press  the  business  on  the  several  meet 
ings  there  represented.  The  Yearly  Meeting  was  interested  in 
"the  Spiritual  and  Temporal  \Yelfare,"  "the  religious  and  school 
education  of  the  children  of  the  black  people,"  "further  efforts 
in  favor  of  this  people,"  and  felt  that  this  watchful  care  was 
necessary  for  the  Friends,  because  "of  our  high  profession  of 
Justice  &  Equity."  Joshua  Evans,  a  Quaker,  during  a  long  trip 
in  Virginia  in  1796  and  1797,  held  meetings  for  Xegroes  and 
found  that  they  "sat  solidly"  and  "appeared  tender." <;3  One 
feature  of  the  Friends'  work  for  Xegroes  is  very  interesting. 
Upon  the  authority  of  Air.  Kirk  Brown,  Keeper  of  Friends' 
Records  at  Park  Avenue  Meeting  House,  Baltimore,  we  can  say 
that  although  such  zeal  is  shown  in  caring  for  the  Xegroes,  none 
of  that  race  became  members  of  the  Friends'  Church,  so  far  as 
the  voluminous  records  in  his  possession  show.04 

One  of  the  most  interesting  characters  of  that  day  was  Rev. 
Devereux  Jarratt,  an  able  man,  one  of  the  Episcopal  divines  of 
the  eighteenth  century  who  did  his  duty  well.  Bishop  Meade 
cites  the  pious  conduct  of  this  man  very  frequently  as  an  in 
stance  of  the  godly  Christian  minister.  The  Methodists  owe 
much  to  the  protection  and  comfort  which  he  gave  to  them  when 
they  entered  this  state.  Indeed,  the  man  was  so  humble  and  so 
superior  in  his  general  conception  of  the  duties  of  a  Christian 
minister  that  we  are  driven  to  believe  that  some  of  the  great 
results  attained  by  the  Methodists  in  their  work  among  the  Xe- 


62.  Ms.  Minutes  of  Hopewell  Monthly  Meeting-Book  B.   1777-1791, 
p.    190.    Ms.   minutes    of  Warrington   and    Fairfax    Quarterly    Meeting 
1776-1787,   p.   123.    Ms.   minutes    Goose   Creek    Monthly   Meeting   1785- 
1818,  pp.   533,  534.     Baltimore  Yearly   Meeting  of   Friends   1782.     Ms. 
Minutes  of  the  Fairfax  Monthly  Meeting,  1776-1802,  p.   105   (6th  Mo. 
1779),   p.    110    (8th    Mo.    1779),   p.    124.    (12th.    Mo.    1779),    p.   243.    (10th 
Mo.  1782). 

63.  Journal    of   the    Life,    Travels,    etc.,    of   Joshua    Evans,    pp.    141, 
167. 

64.  A  case  has  come  under  our  notice  recently  where  a  Negro  be 
came  a  Friend  in  the  State  of  Ohio. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  51 

groes  were  directly  ascribable  to  the  efforts  of  Rev.  Mr.  Jar- 
ratt.  He  notes  a  revival  of  interest  in  things  religious  about 
1765,  and  finds  the  revival  growing  greatly  in  the  latter  part 
of  1775  and  the  first  part  of  1776.  Thus,  as  the  Revolutionary 
War  began  and  when  many  of  the  clergy  of  the  Established 
Church  were  discredited  as  Tories,  the  Presbyterians,  Methodists 
and  Baptists  were  reaping  a  rich  harvest  of  human  souls.  The 
Negro  was  benefited  by  this  religious  upheaval  and  from  all 
accounts  the  emotionalism  of  the  whites  under  religious  excite 
ment  during  that  period  was  the  equal  of  anything  the  Negro 
has  been  able  to  attain  emotionally  since.65 

When  Bishop  Coke  was  in  Accomac  County,  Virginia,  Nov. 
29,  1784,  he  wrote  that  he  had  heard  Harry,  Bishop  Asbury's 
black,  preach  several  times  and  he  believed  that  this  Negro  who 
could  not  read  was  one  of  the  best  preachers  in  the  world.66  In 
Mecklenburg  County,  Coke  bore  testimony  against  slavery  and 
tried  out  his  method  of  delivering  such  testimony  without  giv 
ing  much  offense.  It  was  simply  this,  he  first  exhorted  the  slaves 
to  be  dutiful  to  their  masters  and  then  the  whites  would  receive 
in  good  part  whatever  he  had  to  say.07 

About  this  same  time,  in  1780,  the  First  Baptist  Church  in 
Richmond  began  its  distinguished  career  with  only  fourteen 
members.08  This  church  did  yeoman  service  in  caring  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  Negroes.  It  is  a  matter  of  deep  regret 
that  so  few  individual  churches  made  competition  sharp  in  this 
type  of  well-doing. 

We  have  mentioned  the  hysteria  during  the  Methodist  meetings 
in  which  the  Negroes  evidently  had  their  part.  From  the  ac 
counts  of  prominent  Baptist  historians  °°  the  emotionalism  ex 
hibited  during  the  revivals  from  1785  to  1791  was  also  amazing.  S 
It  was  not  unusual  for  a  large  proportion  of  the  congregation 
to  be  prostrate  on  the  floor;  some  of  them  lost  the  use  of  their 


65.  A   Brief   Narrative   of  the   Revival   of  Religion   in   Virginia,   pp. 
12,  13. 

66.  Coke's  Journal,  p.   18. 

67.  Ibid,  p.   37. 

68.  The    First    Century    of    the    First     Baptist    Church,    p.    f>5. 

69.  Benedict,    History    of   the    Baptists,    pp.    90,    91;    Semple,    R.    B., 
Hist,   of  the   Baptists  in   Va.,  p.   10. 


52  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

limbs ;  some  were  screaming,  others  shouting  hosannas,  groan 
ing,  or  weeping;  preachers  were  scattered  through  this  mass  of 
humanity,  some  exhorting  at  the  tops  of  their  voices,  others 
praying,  still  others  in  heated  argumentation  with  sinners ;  all 
excited.  Some  preachers  endeavored  to  curb  this  state  of  affairs 
while  others  fanned  the  flames  as  though  they  were  sent  from 
on  high.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  \vork  was  more  extensive 
and  more  converts  were  added  where  the  greatest  excitement 
prevailed.  If  the  Anglo-Saxon  with  his  faculties  long  accus 
tomed  to  perfect  coordination  lost  control  in  such  religious 
awakenings,  what  must  have  been  the  conditions  among  the 
demonstrative,  emotional  Africans.  It  is  certain  that  vast  num 
bers  of  the  Negroes  became  Baptists. 

The  Baptists  were  at  first,  strongly  opposed  to  slavery,  but 
they  did  not  arouse  the  suspicions  of  the  slave-owners  like  the 
Methodists  and  Quakers.  Perhaps  the  expressions  of  individ 
uals,  or  by  local  associations,  did  not  sound  quite  so  pretentious 
as  the  constant  declarations  of  General  Conferences  or  Yearly 
Meetings.  As  early  as  1758  or  1759,  William  Murphy  and 
Philip  Mulkey  established  the  Bluestone  church  of  the  Meherrin 
Association.  Its  membership  consisted  of  "several  white  mem 
bers,  besides  a  large  number  of  blacks."7'1  Lasting  good  was 
done  to  the  Negroes  in  this  congregation.  At  Charles  City,  in 
the  Dover  Association,  the  Negroes  were  very  much  in  evidence 
and  because  of  a  ruling  which  forbade  them  to  preach,  "they  set 
up  a  kind  of  independence,  and  went  on  not  only  to  preach,  but 
to  baptize.  It  all,  however,  ended  in  confusion."71  At  Ports 
mouth,  Va.,  after  the  resignation  of  their  pastor,  Thomas  Arm- 
istead,  in  1792,  Jacob  Bishop,  "a  black  man  of  considerable 
talents"  was  employed  to  preach  for  them.  This  arrangement, 
the  historian  notes,  could  not  be  satisfactory  in  Virginia.7-  Da 
venport's  had  only  a  few  white  members,  but  because  of  its 
situation  near  Petersburg  a  number  of  Negroes  of  that  town  had 
taken  membership  in  this  church.  These  built  a  meeting-house 


70.  A    History    of   the    Rise    and    Progress    of   the    Baptists    in    Vir 
ginia.   R.    B.   Semple,   p.   222. 

71.  A    History    of    the    Rise   and    Progress    of   the    Baptists    in    Vir 
ginia,    R.    B.    Semple.   p.    112. 

72.  Ibid.,    p.    :J55. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF    THE    NEGRO  53 

and    conducted    their    worship    regularly    through    preachers    of 
color.7-'5 

The  most  interesting  case  of  all,  however,  is  the  one  of  the 
Williamsburg  Baptist  Church.74  This  church  had  a  membership 
almost  entirely,  if  not  altogether,  of  Negroes.  Moses,  a  Negro, 
first  preached  among  them  and  was  frequently  taken  up  and 
whipped  as  a  reward  for  his  zeal  in  holding  meetings.  A  man 
called  Gowan,  or  as  he  termed  himself,  Gowan  Pamphlet,  later 
preached  for  them  and  also  baptized.  Excommunication  was  the 
penalty  prescribed  by  the  Association  for  any  person  of  color 
who  preached,  but  the  blacks  showed  a  rebellious  spirit  in  con 
tinuing  to  hold  meetings  as  formerly.  Gowan  and  some  others 
were  "excluded,"  but  were  nothing  daunted,  so  they  organized  a 
church  outside  of  the  Baptist  fellowship  and  continued  preach 
ing,  baptizing,  etc.,  as  formerly.  A  church  book  was  kept,  and 
in  1791  while  the  Dover  Association  was  meeting  in  Mathews 
County  this  church  with  a  membership  of  about  five  hundred 
petitioned  for  admittance  into  the  Association.  The  Association 
sent  a  committee  to  them  to  "set  things  in  order"  and  after  the 
committee's  favorable  report,  the  church  was  received.75  The 
foregoing  facts  constitute  one  of  the  most  romantic  pages  of 
Negro  religious  history.  No  one  knows  exactly  when  Moses 
preached  in  Williamsburg  or  when  Gowan  commenced  preach 
ing.  It  certainly  would  not  have  been  considered  important 
enough  to  record  in  Virginia  history  when  so  many  thrilling  gov 
ernmental  events  were  taking  place.  It  is  merely  known  to  us 
that  sometime  after  a  handful  of  Negroes  and  Gowan  had  been 
excommunicated,  they  organized  a  church  and  gathered  about 
this  nucleus  500  converts  and  received  admission  into  the  Dover 
Association  in  1791.  Churches  were  frequently  organized  among 


73.  A    History   of   the    Rise   and    Progress    of   the    Baptists    in    Vir 
ginia,  R.  B.  Semple,  p.  361. 

74.  Ibid.,  pps.  114,  115. 

75.  A   Revision  of  the   1810  edition  of  Semple   says   in  a   foot-note: 
"This  church  had  a  brief  existence.     The  present  church  of  the  same 
name  was  organized  in  1828  and  occupies  the  ground  of  the  original 
one.      Scervant   Jones    was    for   years    their    pastor,   whilst    they    wor 
shipped   in   the   famous    Old  Powder   Magazine   on    the    public    square 
in   Williamsburg." 


54  REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

Baptists  before  they  were  recognized  by  the  Association,  but  the 
upbuilding  of  this  particular  church  must  have  been  the  work 
of  several  years.  In  the  face  of  the  opposition  which  a  Negro 
church  was  liable  to  arouse,  it  could  not  be  possible  that  mush 
room  growth  should  characterize  the  work.70  The  Negro  Year 
Book  for  1912  gives  the  date  for  the  founding  of  this  church  as 
1785;  I7  John  W.  Cromwell,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the 
American  Negro  Academy,  has  placed  it  at  1776.78  We  have 
found  no  records  to  verify  either  date  but  we  believe  the  church 
to  be  the  first  Negro  church  in  Virginia,  if  not  the  first  in  the 
whole  United  States. 

In  1794,  a  Presbyterian,  the  Rev.  Cary  Allen  was  visiting  the 
home  of  Colonel  Skillern,  and  insisted  on  having  devotions  in 
stead  of  continuing  the  conversation  about  the  James  River. 
The  Colonel  called  together  his  family  and  the  Negroes  until 
his  house  was  overflowing  and  some  stood  in  the  yard.  After 
preaching  to  the  whites  for  a  time,  he  turned  to  the  Negroes 
and  said :  "You  Negroes,  I  have  a  word  for  you.  Do  you  think 
s  that  such  poor,  black,  dirty-looking  creatures  as  you  can  ever 
get  to  Heaven?  I  do  not  speak  this  because  I  despise  you,  and 
have  no  tender  feelings  for  you ;  by  no  means.  I  pity  you  from 
my  heart.  You  are  poor  slaves  and  have  a  hard  time  of  it  here ; 
you  work  hard  and  have  few  of  the  comforts  of  life  that  you 
can  enjoy;  but  I  can  tell  you  that  the  blessed  Savior  shed  his 
blood  as  much  for  you  as  for  your  masters,  or  any  of  the  white 

people Break  off  from  all  your  wicked  ways,  your 

lying,  stealing,  swearing,  drunkenness,  and  vile  lewdness ;  give 
yourselves  to  prayer  and  repentance  and  fly  to  Jesus,  and  give 
up  your  heart  to  him  in  true  earnest,  and  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come."  79  The  white  people  seemed  more  affected  by  the  ad 
dress  to  the  Negroes  than  they  were  by  the  one  addressed  to 
themselves.  The  Negroes  were  almost  dissolved  in  tears.  This 


76.  John    Asplund — -"The   Annual   Register   of   the    Baptist    Denom 
ination   in   North  America   to   November   1,   1790,"   does   not   mention 
the   Williamsburg   Church,   but   this   is   not   strange   since   the   church 
was  not  recognized  by  the   Dover  Association  until  1791. 

77.  Negro    Year    Book,    1912,    p.    71). 

78.  The   Negro   Church,   p.   30. 

79.  Foote's   Sketches,   pp.  232,  233. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  55 

type  of  sermon  was  very  frequently  preached  to  the  slaves.80  It 
offers  little  present  hope,  but  deals  very  freely  with  the  future. 

Of  the  many  distinguished  travellers  who  came  from  the  Con 
tinent  into  America  in  the  years  following  the  Revolutionary 
\Yar,  Marquis  de  Chastellux  and  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucault  Lian- 
court  were  two  of  the  most  intelligent  visitors  from  France. 
Rochefoucault,  wrho  was  here  in  1795,  '96,  '97,  declared  that  Vir 
ginians  had  made  greater  progress  in  reforming  the  barbarity 
of  the  old  laws  concerning  slavery  than  any  other  state  in  the 
Union  and  further,  that  "few  nations  are  less  addicted  to  re 
ligious  practice  than  the  Virginians."  81  The  humanitarian  spirit 
must  have  been  abroad  in  the  land,  and  the  slaves  must  have 
been  benefited  by  this  goodness  just  as  Rochefoucault  said,  but 
we  believe  that  the  distinguished  Frenchman  was  wrong  concern 
ing  his  estimate  of  religious  practice  in  Virginia,  unless  he  was 
referring  exclusively  to  the  highest  class  of  educated  citizens. 
Bishop  Meade  as  late  as  1811  did  not  expect  to  see  an  educated 
young  man  who  was  not  an  atheist.  And  the  questions,  "First, 
whether  there  be  a  God?  Secondly,  whether  the  Christian  re 
ligion  had  been  injurious  or  beneficial  to  mankind?"  were  de 
bated  in  the  literary  societies  at  William  and  Mary  College,  a 
little  before  the  Bishop's  ordination.82  Parson  Weems  of  Pohick 
church  sold  Payne's  "Age  of  Reason,"  and  then  the  Bible  as  an 
antidote.  The  French  skepticism  and  the  ideas  of  the  French 
Revolution  were  widely  diffused  and  eagerly  adopted  by  many 
of  the  elite,  but  the  masses,  the  poor  people,  the  common  people, 
the  slaves  and  also  a  few  distinguished  people  were  hanging  on 
the  words  of  some  soul-stirred  Methodist  or  Baptist  exhorter 
without  being  in  the  least  disturbed  by  the  intellectual  vagaries 
of  those  who  believed  in  no  religious  practice. 

John  Davis,  an  English  traveller  and  writer,  taught  school  in 
Virginia  for  a  term  and  records  in  his  book  the  life-story  of  a 
Negro  slave  named  Dick.  The  old  Negro  tells  of  the  evil  life 
of  Squire  Sutherland's  eldest  son  and  then  says  that  the  second 


80.  See    extract    from    Bishop    Meade's    Sermon   quoted   in   A   Jour 
ney  in   the   Seaboard   Slave   States.     F.   W.   Olmstead. 

81.  Travels,   etc.,   Rochefoucault,   Vol.    Ill,  pp.   84,  90. 

82.  Old   Churches,   Meade,   p.   29. 


56  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

son  encouraged  all  the  Negroes  to  go  to  meeting;  encouraged 
matrimony  by  settling  each  couple  in  a  log-house  on  a  good  plot 
of  ground  and  gave  every  one  that  could  say  the  alphabet  a  Tes 
tament  with  cuts.  iDick  felt  the  refining  influence  of  this  master 
and  very  picturesquely  the  old  Xegro  describes  his  own  quest 
for  a  wife:  "I  had  before  quenched  my  thirst  at  any  dirty  pud 
dle  ;  but  a  stream  that  I  was  to  drink  at  constant,  I  thought 
should  be  pure, — and  I  made  my  court  to  a  wholesome  girl,  whb 
had  never  bored  her  ears,  and  went  constantly  to  meeting."  v 
Davis  found  that  about  half  of  the  congregation  at  Pohick  church 
was  white  and  the  other  half  black. s4  "Among  many  of  the 
Negroes  were  to  be  discovered  the  most  satisfying  evidences 
of  sincere  piety ;  an  artless  simplicity,  passionate  aspiration 
after  Christ ;  and  an  earnest  endeavor  to  know  and  do  the  will 
of  God."  85  If  this  be  considered  fulsome  praise,  hear  old  Par 
son  \Yeems,  the  biographer  of  George  Washington.  "Sir,"  said 
Weems,  "no  people  in  this  country  prize  the  Sabbath  more  se 
riously  than  the  trampled-upon  negroes.  They  are  swift  to  hear ; 
they  seem  to  hear  as  for  their  lives.  They  are  wakeful,  serious, 
reverent,  and  attentive  in  God's  house ;  and  gladly  embrace  op 
portunities  of  hearing  his  word.  Oh !  it  is  sweet  preaching,  when 
people  are  desirous  of  hearing!  Sweet  feeding  the  rlock  of 
Christ  when  they  have  so  good  an  appetite."  S(i 

Only  one  who  will  not  see  can  fail  to  note  the  marked  im 
provement  in  the  religious  condition  of  the  Negro  at  the  end  of 
this  century  over  what  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  century. 
The  manifold  labors  of  white  preachers,  and  laymen,  the 
awakening  interest  among  Negroes  in  favor  of  a  better  life. 


83.  Travels,   John    Davis,    pp.   415,   416. 

84.  See  also  Bayard,  Voyage  dans  1'  interieur  des  Etats-Unis  a  Bath, 
Winchester,  dans  la  Vallee  de  Shenandoah,  etc,  etc.  pendant  1'  etc  de 
1791.      2e    ed.    Paris    1708,   p.    168.      "Le    lendemain,   j'   allai   au   temple 
avec  tous  les  voyageurs:  c'  etait  un  edifice  en  bois,  autour  duquel  on 
voyait  ranges   des  chevaux  de  prix  enharnaches   avec   luxe.     Les   ga- 
leries  etaient  pleines  de  negresses  et  de  noirs  endimanches.     Dans  le 
has,   se   trouvaient   leurs   maitres    et   maitresses,    dont    1'   exterieur   an- 
nongait  que  tous  etaient  penetres    de  la  saintete  du  lieu,  et  de  la  sol- 
emnite    de    la    ceremonie." 

85.  Davis   Travels,   p.   335. 

86.  Davis  Travels,  p.  335. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  57 

the  encouragements  from  without  and  within,  at  the  end  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century,  augur  well  for  the  notable  amelioration 
which  was  destined  to  take  place  in  the  Nineteenth.  The  ex 
periment  of  teaching  Negroes  religiously  had  proved  feasible 
and  as  a  result  of  this  the  roadway  was  open ;  it  remained  for 
the  Negroes  to  walk  therein,  if  they  would  reach  the  goal. 


58  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 


1800    TO    1865. 

The  Nineteenth  Century  was  the  most  momentous  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  Negro  race.  The  threads  of  the  past  were  gathered 
up  in  this  century  and  a  cloth  of  new  texture  was  the  result. 
This  new  cloth  was  ready  to  be  used,  but  the  problem  was  how 
to  use  it.  It  long  baffled  the  brainiest  men  of  that  day  to  know 
what  to  make  of  it  and  eventually  the  North  and  South  ex 
asperated  with  each  other  grasped  opposite  ends  of  the  dark 
fabric  and  a  contest  ensued.  What  happened  in  the  development 
of  the  religious  life  of  the  Negro  in  Virginia  up  to  the  outbreak 
of  that  contest  we  shall  now  state. 

A  political  event  occurred  at  the  very  dawn  of  the  century 
which  threatened  to  throw  a  damper  over  every  enthusiasm 
aroused  within  the  hearts  of  Virginians  in  behalf  of  Negroes. 
This  sad  event  was  the  Gabriel  Prosser  near-insurrection  in  1800. 
The  intended  insurrection  did  not  result  in  the  loss  of  any  lives, 
save  those  guilty  of  playing  leading  parts  in  this  widespread  at 
tempt  to  murder  the  citizens  of  Richmond.  However,  it  made 
white  people  feel  that  they  were  near  a  sleeping  volcano.  It  is 
just  here  that  a' sad  fact  must  be  faced.  It  is  nowhere  better 
illustrated  than  in  the  history  of  the  Negro  race,  and  that  fact 
is  this :  unfortunately,  the  innocent  suffer  along  with  the  guilty. 
After  this  attempted  insurrection  had  been  thwarted  by  an  un 
usually  heavy  rainfall  and'  the  consequent  rising  of  streams,  the 
laws  passed  by  the  Legislature  prove  the  community  of  interest 
which  color  means.  The  slaves  working  in  the  fields  of  South- 
side  Virginia  must  have  felt  the  doubts  of  their  masters  and 
mistresses,  and  were  compelled  to  abide  by  new  restrictive  laws 
just  as  did  the  men  who  had  murder  in  their  hearts  near  Rich 
mond. 

As  early  as  1710  the  Burgesses  passed  an  act  freeing  "Will, 
a  Negro,  who  was  the  property  of  Robert  Ruffin  of  Surry,  be 
cause  the  Negro  discovered  a  conspiracy  among  other  Negroes, 
and  thus  averted  a  tragedy.1  Lord  Dunmore  succeeded  in  lur- 


1.  Hening,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  536. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO  59 

ing  away  many  Negroes  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary 
AYar,  but  small-pox  and  bad  treatment  caused  these  to  rue  the 
day  that  they  left  home.  There  are  astoundingly  few  instances 
in  Virginia  history  to  show  that  animosity  existed  between  the 
races ;  and  strangest  of  all,  when  insurrections  were  organized, 
the  Negroes  who  were  leading  figures  bore  testimony  later,  to  no 
bad  treatment  on  the  part  of  their  owners.  The  evidence  sub 
mitted  in  the  trials  of  the  conspirators  of  1800  also  shows  these 
very  remarkable  things :  ( 1 )  -Much  of  the  recruiting  for  the 
insurrection  was  done  on  Sundays,  and  mention  is  made  of  visits 
to  churches  for  the  purpose;  (2)  the  Bible  was  quoted  freely  to 
urge  the  dubious  negroes  to  continue  faithful  in  this  fight  for 
liberty;  (3)  the  Quakers,  Methodists  and  Frenchmen  were  to 
be  spared  because  of  their  friendly  attitude  toward  liberty.2  We 
see  that  this  attempted  insurrection  was  not  exclusively  a  polit 
ical  uprising  against  servitude,  but  was  fanned  by  a  religious 
zeal  that  transformed  the  worshipper  into  the  fanatic. 

The  Legislature  of  Virginia  was  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
the  Negroes  but  it  was  undoubtedly  many,  many  times  more  in 
terested  in  preserving  the  lives  of  the  white  people  of  the  State. 
Much  benefit  might  possibly  accrue  to  Negroes  from  frequent 
meetings,  but  the  whites  were  compelled  to  set  aside  the  benefits 
which  might  accrue  to  the  slaves  and  legislate  in  a  manner  that 
would  tend  to  save  their  own  heads.  Unselfishness  is  a  beau 
tiful  virtue,  but  in  the  presence  of  cutthroats  a  man  is  very  prone 
to  look  out  for  his  own  neck  rather  than  the  interests  of  the 
cutthroats.  Hence  in  January,  1804,  a  bill  was  passed  which 
declared  that  the  assemblages  of  slaves  at  religious  meetings 
or  other  places  at  night,  were  positively  prohibited  and  would 
be  declared  unlawful  assemblies,  subject  to  penalties  prescribed.3 
But  the  legislature  of  Virginia  was  not  heartless.  It  was  at 
least  not  deaf  to  the  voice  of  public  opinion,  because  a  bill  was 
passed  in  January,  1805,  removing  doubts  that  had  arisen  in 
connection  with  the  bill  of  1804.  The  bill  of  1805  recites  in  its 
preamble  the  facts  that  good  citizens  were  doubtful  concerning 


2.  Richmond  Recorder.  Apr.  6,  1803.     Testimony  of  Ben,  alias  Ben 
Woolfolk. 

3.  Hening,    Vol.    Ill,   p.    108. 


60  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF    THE    NEGRO 

the  last  bill,  and  feared  that  it  would  affect  the  religious  rights 
of  their  slaves.  P>y  the  later  bill  it  was  made  clear  that  the 
previous  act  could  not  be  so  construed  as  to  prevent  masters  of 
slaves  from  allowing  Negroes  to  accompany  them  or  their  fam 
ilies  to  religious  meetings,  with  this  one  proviso :  that  the  re 
ligious  meeting  be  conducted  by  a  regular  ordained  white  min 
ister.4  Further  than  this,  the  whole  spirit  of  the  times  was  in 
favor  of  giving  the  Negroes  a  chance  religiously.  The  master 
recognized  the  superior  value  of  good  Christian  slaves  and  it 
was  his  privilege  to  have  some  free  person  teach  them  things 
religious. 

The  province  of  teaching  the  little  Negroes  was  generally  that 
of  the  master's  wife  and  the  growing  young  ladies  on  a  plan 
tation.5  Few  Negroes  escaped  some  religious  instruction  from 
these  good  people.  Usually  on  Sunday  afternoons,  but  some 
times  in  the  morning,  the  slaves  would  be  gathered  in  to  the 
great  house  and  lessons  in  the  catechism  had  to  be  learned. i; 
The  Apostoles'  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Ten  Command 
ments  were  also  taught.  Hymns  were  sung  and  prayers  rose  to 
the  Heavenly  Father.  Many  good  masters  read  sermons  to  their 
slaves  and  we  have  heard  from  the  lips  of  a  daughter  of  Mr.  A. 
y  N.  Douglas  of  Loudoun  County,  that  he  required  his  own  chil 
dren  to  sit  by  his  side  as  he  read  Castleman,7  or  some  other 
writer  of  sermons,  to  the  slaves.  Other  masters  hired  ministers 
to  do  this  labor  of  love,  while  still  others  preached  themselves.8 
John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  would  often  employ  ministers  to 
preach  to  his  slaves  and  after  the  minister  had  concluded,  he 
would  address  them  with  a  few  words.  According  to  the  testi 
mony  of  Mr.  Henry  Carrington  of  Charlotte  County,  in  the  year 
1816  Mr.  Randolph  "made  a  profession  of  religion,  had  family 
prayers,  and  preached  to  his  servants  on  Sunday."  °  Places  at 


4.  Hening,   Vol.    Ill,  p.   124. 

5.  Adams,   A   Southside    View   of   Slavery,   p.   56. 

6.  White   and   Black   Under   the   Old   Regime,   Victoria  V.    Clayton, 
p.    58. 

7.  Plain    Sermons    for    Servants.    Rev.    T.    T.    Castleman. 

8.  Virginia:      Past   and    Present.      Elizabeth    Lee,   pp.   26,   27. 

9.  Powhatan    Bouldin,   Home   Reminiscences   of  John    Randolph    of 
Roanoke,  p.  85. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  61 

family  prayers  were  provided  and  maintained  for  the  Negroes 
in  many  families  and  were  usually  eagerly  claimed  by  the  aspir 
ing,  religious  blacks.10  That  these  customs  \vere  firmly  estab 
lished  in  many  families  cannot  be  doubted. 

The  manumission  of  slaves  had  become  a  very  frequent  oc 
currence  a  little  after  the  Revolutionary  War  and  continued  at 
a  rapid  rate  until  nearly  a  decade  after  the  beginning  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century.11  Events  then  occurred  that  checked  this 
tendency.  It  is  remarkable  how  excellent  some  of  these  manu 
mitted  Negroes  were,  and  in  what  high  esteem  such  free  Negroes 
were  held  in  early  times  by  the  white  people.  Such  expressions 
as  those  hereinafter  quoted  are  seen  in  not  one  only,  but  in  many 
legislative  petitions :  "An  excellent  character  for  sobriety,  hon 
esty,  and  industry,"  "provided  well  for  their  children,  and  bring 
them  up  in  a  moral  way,"  "supported  a  spotless  character/'  12 
"his  removal  from  the  state  would  be  an  injury  to  the  vicinity  in 
which  he  has  resided, "1;i  and  many  such  testimonials  could  be 
quoted  to  prove  that  some  of  the  Negroes  at  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century  had  profited  by  their  training  in  America 
and  were  showing  noble  lives.  It  is  just  here  that  an  important 
fact  lies.  Evolution  does  not  raise  all  with  an  equal  swiftness. 
The  individual  sport  really  marks  the  highest  present  attainment 
of  any  evolutionary  process.  Without  these  sports  rising  above 
the  masses,  evolution  would  be  almost  inconceivable.  Mass 
evolution  is  impossible  except  as  individuals  rise.  It  must  be 
much  the  same  with  the  evolution  of  races.  The  sport  rises 
above  the  masses  and  a  new  standard  is  set ;  he  seems  to  call 
them  on ;  he  has  demonstrated  the  possibilities  so  far,  and  to 
attain  to  his  height  is  no  longer  considered  marvelous.  The 
highest  attainment  of  individuals  is  really  what  the  Anglo-Saxon 
considers  as  his  legitimate  racial  evolution.  When  we  speak  of 
"our"  writers  we  choose  Shakespeare,  Poe,  Browning,  etc.,  and 
they  stand  for  white  supremacy.  They  are  not  average.  The 


10.  The   African    Preacher,   W.    S.   White,   pp.    31,   32. 
Southside   View   of   Slavery.   X.   Adams,   p.    58. 

11.  Virginia's   Attitude   Toward   Slavery  and   Secession,    Beverly   B. 
Munford,  p.  42. 

12.  Ms.    Legislative   petitions   of  Accomac    County,   A42   and   AoO. 

13.  See  also,  Ms.  Petitions   Henrico  A9470,  A9472,  A9485,   A9517. 


62  REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

rest  of  us  cannot  approach  their  art.  We  too  frequently  deny 
this  privilege  to  the  Negroes  of  choosing  representative  men, 
and  consider  their  representatives  as  chicken  thieves  or  vagrants. 
It  is  unfair  to  do  so.  We  choose  our  best  and  call  that  evolu 
tion;  we  choose  their  worst  and  brand  that  the  Negro's  evolu 
tion.  The  exceptional  individual  is  valuable  in  that  he  furnishes 
the  incentive  to  the  others.  He  is  not  average ;  he  is  at  the  crest 
of  the  racial  evolution.  The  average  racial  evolution  will  neces 
sarily  be  infinitely  slower  than  the  evolution  of  picked  individuals. 
As  one  of  the  mass  of  society  rises,  another  falls  and  the  average 
remains  undisturbed.  In  reality,  few  processes  can  be  slower 
than  racial  uplift.  The  endeavor  must  be,  however,  constantly 
to  raise  more  individuals  above  the  average  that  the  average 
may  be  raised.  Professor  Straton  called  attention  to  these  facts 
at  the  Birmingham  Conference  in  1900,  when  he  said :  "We 
must  not  confuse  the  rapid  development  of  exceptional  indi 
viduals,  with  the  evolution  of  the  race.  Picked  individuals, 
strengthened  often  in  mental  vigor  by  infusions  of  white  blood, 
may  grow  rapidly ;  but  the  evolution  of  the  race  comes  slowly— 
a  part  of  each  new  element  of  strength  being  transmitted  by  the 
laws  of  heredity  from  father  to  son,  and  so  on  to  succeeding 
generations ;  and  so,  slowly  and  painfully,  a  race  advances.  It 
is  not  a  matter  of  decades,  but  of  centuries.  The  Negro  race 
as  a  whole,  however,  may  go  forward  higher  yet  in  outward 
forms,  but  still  deep  down  beneath  these  things  may  lie  the  tend 
encies  which  give  color  to  the  fear  that  they  are  a  decaying 
people."  14  This  statement  of  Professor  Straton  certainly  checks 
unbridled  enthusiasm  and  sets  us  for  the  task  before  us.  He 
nowhere,  however,  denies  the  value  of  the  individual  in  a  racial 
evolution.  He  could  not.  His  emphasis  is  on  the  slowness  of 
raising  the  average.  He  seems  to  overlook  environment  while 
emphasizing  heredity.  In  reality,  if  Negroes  had  to  wait  to  in 
herit  one  good  quality  after  another  from  their  parents  whilst 
also  inheriting  bad  traits,  ages  of  time  would  scarcely  suffice  for 
such  an  evolution.  That  races  progress  slowly  is  trite ;  that  in 
dividuals  and  masses  cannot  be  considered  identical  is  axio 
matic;  that  the  individual  is  nevertheless  a  part  of  the  mass  is 


14.   Proceedings    of    Montgomery    Conference,    p.    149. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  63 

also  axiomatic;  that  a  definition  of  the  average  differs  with  the 
difference  in  racial  viewpoints  has  been  proved  by  experiment. 
Even  though  the  status  quo  of  the  race  at  any  given  time  is  to 
be  judged  from  the  average  Negro,15  if  he  can  be  agreed  upon, 
the  prospects  for  the  best  development  of  the  average  in  the 
future  is  to  be  seen  in  the  best  development  of  individuals  at 
any  one  given  time.  Upon  that  highest  development  hypothesis 
our  whole  system  of  University  education  works  out  in  practice, 
no  matter  how  democratic  it  may  be  in  theory.  Each  individual 
has  a  distinct  part  to  play  in  raising  the  racial  average.  The 
individual  sports  must  be  cultivated.  The  Negro  is  learning 
these  facts. 

Near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  mulatto  named 
Christopher  McPherson  was  freed  by  a  Mr.  Ross.  From  an 
early  age  Mr.  Ross  recognized  the  "fidelity  and  integrity"  of 
the  Negro  and  had  emancipated  him 'in  fact,  but  had  postponed 
the  legal  emancipation  until  the  3rd  of  July,  1792.16  This 
Negro's  case  is  a  very  exceptional  one ;  indeed  we  believe  it  so 
exceptional  as  to  demand  its  insertion  here.  The  heights  at 
tained  by  this  man  and  his  social  standing,  'before  his  brain  was 
affected  by  too  much  religion,  are  absolutely  dazzling  to  our 
modern  eyes  not  accustomed  to  such  sights.  He  was  a  store 
keeper  for  years,  and  conducted  the  business  with  remarkable 
acumen.  On  one  occasion  at  Columbia  in  Fluvanna  County,  he 
broke  up  an  incipient  slave  uprising  by  charging  into  the  midst 
of  the  Negroes  and  declaring  that  he  would  cut  off  the  arm  of 
the  first  one  that  struck  a  blow.  John  Quarles,  the  mayor  of 
the  town,  was  a  witness  to  this  event  and  remarked  on  the  fierce 
ness  of  mien  which  characterized  M'Pherson  as  he  stood  with 
his  old  Revolutionary  sword  drawn,  ready  for  execution.  Mr. 
\Ym.  Waller  Hening  and  many  others  refer  to  him  as  Mr. 
MTherson  and  give  him  as  high  testimonials  as  men  are  wont 
to  receive.  Mr.  Hening  wrote  from  Charlottesville  in  1800: 
"Christopher  MTherson,  the  bearer  hereof  officiated  for  some 


15.  E.    C.    Pell— "The    Bright    Side    of    Humanity:"      "The    average 
negro   has   never   been   portrayed    except   in   silhouette." 

16.  Other   facts   concerning   this    remarkable    Negro   may   be    found 
in  Henrico  MS.  Petitions  A.  9182. 


64  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

time  as  a  clerk  in  my  office  and  it  is  with  much  pleasure  that  I 
am  enahled  to  pay  that  tribute  of  approbation  which  his  conduct 
so  justly  merits.  In  his  business  he  was  uncommonly  dextrous 
and  accurate, — in  his  demeanor  unexceptional.  Having  engaged 
a  young  gentleman  to  assist  me,  previous  to  my  acquaintance 
with  Mr.  M'Pherson,  it  became  necessary  on  his  arrival  for 
Mr.  M'Pherson  to  remove.  Mr.  M'Pherson  during  his  resi 
dence  with  me  conducted  himself  with  modesty,  diligence  and 
good  morals."  Other  men  such  as  Geo.  AYythe,  Chancellor  of 
Virginia,  Peyton  Drew,  Wm.  Dabney,  Robert  Pollard,  Edm. 
Randolph,  John  "YYickham,  Thos.  Marshall,  Wm.  \Yirt,  J.  Mar 
shall,  Mary  Randolph  and  about  a  hundred  others  recommended 
him  ''as  a  person  of  Integrity,  Industry,  and  general  good  con 
duct."  when  he  presented  a  petition  to  the  Legislature  in  De 
cember,  1810,  asking  for  the  privilege  of  riding  in  a  carriage 
during  his  old  age.  It  seems  that  the  Richmond  Council  in 
June  1810  passed  an  ordinance  which  would  make  a  carriage 
owner  forfeit  a  $200  bond  if  he  permitted  a  Negro  or  mulatto 
to  use  it  unless  in  the  capacity  of  a  maid  or  servant  to  some 
lady  or  gentleman  who  was  riding.17  The  petition  presented 
by  M'Pherson  is  now  preserved  in  the  Archives  of  the  State 
Library  and  is  marked  "reasonable"  and  "reported,"  but  there 
is  no  further  record  of  action  on  it.  It  is  only  natural  that  the 
State  should  hesitate  to  interfere  with  municipal  laws.  AYe 
have  seen  that  men  in  many  callings  acknowledged  the  worth  of 
this  man  and  we  know  that  he  rendered  an  especial  service  while 
working  in  one  of  the  state  offices  by  inventing  a  good  system 
of  indexing.  All  of  his  great  reputation,  however,  was  soon 
doomed  to  be  in  eclipse  after  the  misfortune  of  going  crazy  on 
the  subject  of  religion.18 


17.  An  ordinance,  to  Amend  the  ordinance  for  regulating-  Wagons, 
Drays   and    Carts,   and   for   other   purposes.      Passed   18th   June.    1810. 
In   papers    of   Henrico    MS.    Petitions   A   9182. 

18.  The   following   remarkable    document   was    sent   by   him    to   the 
Legislature:   Christopher  MacPherson  To  the   Honorable — The  Com 
mittee    for    Courts    of  Justice    of   the    General    Assembly    of   the    Old 
Dominion  State  of  Virginia — I  beg  leave  to  introduce  myself  to  you, 
as  being  that  very   express  personage,  who   is  set   forth   in  the   Rev 
elations   of   Saint   John   the    Divine,   in   the    llth.   and    16th.    verses    of 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  65 

Thomas  Jefferson  in  a  letter  to  John  Adams  in  1812  charac 
terized  MacPherson  thus :  "He  is  a  man  of  color,  brought  up 
as  a  book-keeper  by  a  merchant,  his  master,  and  afterward  en 
franchised.  He  had  understanding  enough  to  post  up  his  ledger 
from  his  journal,  but  not  enough  to  bear  up  against  hypochon 
driac  affections,  and  the  gloomy  forebodings  they  inspire.  He 
became  crazy,  foggy,  his  head  always  in  the  clouds,  and  rhap 
sodizing  what  neither  himself  nor  any  one  else  could  under 
stand."  1<J  "Sic  transit  gloria  mundi" 

The  Quakers  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  kept  their  com 
mittees  busy  by  recommending  for  the  Negroes  "a  more  general 
care  in  those  respects  (useful  learning)  as  well  as  to  promote 
Their  advancement  in  Religion  and  Morality."  20  The  educa- 


the  19th.  Chapter,  and  the  first  verse  of  the  20th.  Chapter. — To  the 
truth  of  this  assertion,  I  take  my  Almighty  God  to  witness;  and  He 
will  prove  the  same,  if  you  require  it  of  Him. 

"I  have  the  happiness  to  announce  to  you  and  to  the  World,  that 
the  Glorious  Millenium  was  planted  on  this  Earth,  on  the  15th.  day 
of  February  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1799 — Omnipotence,  out  of  his 
great  goodness  and  peculiar  distinction  towards  you  desires  me  to 
inform  you,  that  now,  it  is  His  wish,  that  the  first  acts  of  His  reign 
on  Earth,  shall  emanate  from  you;  and  that  you  are  to  enact  Laws, 
founded  upon  the  pure  and  sacred  principles  of  Truth  and  Justice — 
Reason  &  Religion,  Peace  &  Harmony  and  Love  and  Unity — which 
no  doubt,  will  be  crowned  by  Faith  and  Power  and  Glory — . 

"John  Adams  late  President  of  the  United  States  &  the  Senate  of 
the  same,  failed  to  pay  the  attention  that  was  due  to  His  most  Gra 
cious  Message — as  is  contained  in  the  enclosed  address, — Our  Al 
mighty  and  Most  Gracious  Father  therefore,  now,  delegates  that 
message  to  you  and  after  mature  deliberation,  He  wishes  you  to 
make  a  Solemn  and  Earnest  prayer  for  His  Almighty  Will  to  be 
forthwith  done:  and  He  will  to  your  perfect  Satisfaction,  that  mo 
ment,  confirm  this  Embassy — Inclosed  are  documents  respecting  this 
business,  agreeable  to  the  list  stated. — I  am  Gentlemen, 

"Your  Friend   &  Servant 

"Pherson  Son  of  Christ 

Alias 
"Fierce  Son  of  Christ." 

19.  Writings   of  Thomas   Jefferson,   Vol.    XIII,   p.    144.     Thos.   Jef 
ferson   Memorial  Ass'n  edition. 

20.  MS.    Minutes    Fairfax    Monthly    Meetings,    Book    B.    1776-1802, 
p.  725. 

—5 


66  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

tional  work  of  the  Quakers  was  destined  to  be  seriously  impeded, 
however,  by  legislation  later  on  in  this  century.  At  the  Oc 
tober  term  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Albemarle  County  in  the 
year  1818  several  gentlemen  were  summoned  to  answer  the 
charge  of  unlawfully  assembling  slaves  and  teaching  them  at 
the  Cove  Meeting  House.  The  pastor  of  the  little  flock  was  ac 
cused  of  offering  to  instruct  them  and  predicting  their  freedom. 
The  case  was  continued  for  several  terms  and  then  dismissed.21 
It  goes  almost  without  question  that  any  law  which  would  tend 
to  restrict  the  knowledge  of  the  Bible  among  slaves  would  be 
far  more  honored  in  its  breach  than  in  its  observance.  And  Vir 
ginians  of  that  day  thought  so  too.  The  only  reason  for  passing 
such  laws  was  a  desire  to  prevent  meddlers  from  coming  in  and 
/  stirring  up  the  Negroes  to  cut  their  masters'  throats  under  guise 
of  teaching  them  the  religion  of  the  gentle  Jesus  Christ.  The 
Baptists  of  Dover  Association  met  in  the  Nomini  meeting-house, 
AYestmoreland  County,  in  1802  to  arrange  for  a  uniformity 
among  churches  in  holding  church  meetings.22  It  seems  that 
some  churches  had  more  slave  members  than  white  members. 
This  state  of  affairs  resulted  in  the  slaves  having  a  majority  of 
the  male  adult  vote  in  some  instances.  To  check  the  control  of  the 
Negroes  a  plan  was  sanctioned  by  which  all  were  admitted  to 
privileges  in  the  church,  but  only  the  free  male  members  were 
entitled  to  exercise  authority.  C:  C.  Jones  estimated  in  1809 
that  there  were  9,000  Negro  Baptist  communicants  in  Virginia. 
The  Baptists  had  thus  early  taken  a  big  lead  among  the  Negroes 
and  were  never  to  be  overtaken  in  point  of  numbers.  The  Meth 
odists  were  becoming  better  adjusted  to  Southern  conditions  and 
their  churches  were  gaining  accessions  very  rapidly.  The  Epis 
copalians  at  the  beginning  of  the  Century  had  lost  their  grip 
upon  the  emotional  Negroes  who  flocked  to  the  Methodists  and 
Baptists.  In  later  years,  under  the  leadership  of  Bishop  Meade 
an  attempt  was  made  to  renew  the  struggle  for  best  service  in 
helping  the  slaves  religiously  but  the  attempt  was  late.  The 
sceptre  had  departed.  Bishop  Meade's  good  common  sense  is 
clearly  shown  in  many  instances,  but  in  few  more  than  in  a  dis- 


21.  E.   Woods— History   of   Albemarle,   pp.    Ill,    112. 

22.  Semple,  Virginia  Baptists. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   QF   THE    NEGRO  67 

cussion  which  he  had  with  a  prominent  Episcopal  minister  who 
insisted  that  no  one  should  preach  to  slaves  even  in  their  quar 
ters  until  the  service  according  to  the  rubric  was  used.  This 
discussion  took  place  soon  after  the  ordination  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Meade,  and  after  waiting  for  several  years  the  Bishop  found 
his  own  judgment  approved.23  The  power  of  Bishop  Meade 
to  influence  his  communion  for  devotional  living  was  seen  in 
the  solicitude  which  many  had  for  their  slaves,  because  of  his 
insistence  that  the  servants  would  make  pious  members,  if  given 
proper  attention.24  The  opportunities  which  have  come  to  many 
a  Negro  child  from  the  fact  of  its  birth  into  a  Christian  family 
are  in  many  instances  to  be  ascribed  to  the  potent  influence  ex 
erted  by  this  Bishop  and  those  who  wrote  sermons  for  slaves 
at  his  bidding,  as  T.  T.  Castleman,  Churchill  Gibson  and  others. 
The  Presbyterians  under  the  strong  leadership  of  .the  men  of 
Hanover  had  long  since  laid  strong  foundations  for  their  work 
among  the  Negroes.  Although  their  results  have  never  been 
showy,  like  those  presented  by  some  of  the  other  denominations, 
they  have  ever  been  consistent  and  patient  in  doing  substantial 
religious  work  for  the  blacks.  In  1806,  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice 
obtained  a  commission  directly  from  the  General  Assembly  "to 
spend  two  months  in  missionary  labor  among  the  blacks  in  Char 
lotte  County,  Va.,  and  parts  adjacent."  2r>  The  next  year  he  was 
commissioned  for  three  months  and  each  succeeding  year  for 
the  same  period  as  long  as  he  remained  in  Charlotte.  He 
preached  special  sermons  Sunday  afternoons  for  the  Negroes 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year.20  Dr.  Rice  was  fortunate  in  that  he 
had  a  nucleus  of  Christian  Negroes  trained  under  Rev.  Samuel 
Davies  while  they  were  living  in  Hanover,  around  which  he 
could  gather  others.  Rev.  S.  J.  Price  found  the  Christian  Ne- 
goes  well  organized  for  Christian  living,  with  watchmen  to  take 
the  lead  and  report  any  moral  delinquents.  These  definite  trusts 
the  Negroes  performed  admirably.27  The  influence  of  these 


23.  Meade,  Old   Churches,   Vol.   I,  p.  28. 

24.  Ibid.   Vol.    I,    p.    60. 

25.  Foote's    Sketches — 2nd.    Series,   p.   303. 

26.  Ibid.  p.   301. 

27.  Foote,  p*.  303. 


68  REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

pious  old  Negroes  was  tremendous  and  was  a  deterrent  to  many 
an  evil  act  on  the  part  of  sinners  of  a  younger  generation. 
These  old  men  in  the  midst  of  their  humility  were  proud  to  teach 
the  younger  Negroes  the  Catechism  and  other  Biblical  truths. 
Many  of  these  old  Negroes,  who  had  learned  to  read  during  the 
eighteenth  century  taught  the  little  Negroes  to  read.  Their 
ability  to  quote  Scripture  is  almost  without  parallel  in  this 
country,  and  is  absolutely  the  despair  of  the  generations  now 
living  in  a  free  country  one  hundred  years  removed  from  the 
events  to  which  we  are  referring. 

This  work  for  Negroes  \vas  not  hid  in  a  corner.  In  a  letter 
which  Mrs.  John  Thompson  Mason  wrote  to  her  son  Temple 
in  1816,  she  says:  "Give  your  poor  slaves  who  work  in  the 
field,  Saturday  to  sell  what  they  make,  that  they  may  have  it 
in  their  power  to  go  to  worship  on  Sunday.  Attend  to  your  dear 
children Set  them  an  example  by  having  family  wor 
ship  for  them  and  your  servants etc."28  Mr.  Law 
rence  Lewis,  Geo.  Washington's  nephew,  and  his  slaves,  were 
members  of  the  same  church  at  Berryville.  After  the  whites 
had  communed  on  a  certain  Sunday,  one  of  his  servants  came 
forward,  and  as  Mr.  Lewis  had  not  communed,  he  also  came 
forward  and  knelt  by  the  side  of  his  servant,  as  Bishop  Meade 
says,  "feeling  no  doubt  that  one  God  made  them  and  one  Sav 
ior  redeemed  them." 29  It  must  be  distinctly  understood, 
however,  that  this  incident  was  not  the  custom.  Usually  the 
Negroes  communed  after  the  whites,  but  there  were  excep 
tions  even  to  this  rule.30  As  for  seating  arrangements,  when 
the  Negroes  attended  the  white  churches  in  considerable  num 
bers  certain  seats  were  set  apart  for  their  use.  These  seats 
were  usually  in  the  galleries,  but  sometimes  on  the  main  floor 
of  the  church. 

The  course  of  events  was  undisturbed  during  the  period  be 
tween  rj~8i0  and  1820  by  any  unusual  happenings  in  the  reli 
gious  history  6f  the  Negro.  Baptisms  and  marriages  con- 


28.  Meade,  Old  Churches,  Vol.  II,  p.  231. 

29.  Meade,    Old   Churches,   Vol.    II,   p.   232. 

30.  A  Defence  of  Virginia.  R.  L.   Dabney,  p.  219. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE    NEGRO  .    69 

tinned.31  The  War  of  1812  was  fought,  but  had  little  effect 
upon  the  lives  of  the  slaves  or  free  Negroes.  If  that  people 
be  happy  whose  annals  are  brief,  then  the  Negroes  of  Vir 
ginia  must  have  been  enjoying  a  pleasant  period  while  devel 
oping  their  religious  faculties  for  greater  efforts  later  on. 
Even  though  they  had  been  forbidden  to  meet  to  learn  to  read 
and  write,  the  law  expressly  provided  that  this  act  should  not 
be  construed  to  forbid  masters  taking  their  slaves  to  religious 
services.32  The  act  was  certainly  not  aimed  at  the  morality 
of  the  Negroes,  but  it  was  an  expedient,  made  necessary,  so 
the  legislators  of  that  day  thought,  by  the  danger  of  Negroes 
reading  incendiary  literature  and  rising  in  insurrection.  Mas 
ters  were  expressly  privileged  in  Virginia  to  employ  persons 
to  instruct  them  religiously.33  It  is  a  source  of  great  gratifica 
tion  to  us  now  to  know  that  our  legislators  did  not  let  their 
fears  take  them  quite  as  far  as  the  people  of  North  Carolina 
went  who  ordered  patrols  to  "search  every  negro  house  for 
books  or  prints  of  any  kind.  Bibles  and  Hymn  Books  were  par 
ticularly  mentioned."  34 

According  to  the  date  proposed  by  the  Library  of  Congress 
it  was  in  1812  that  an  important  book  was  issued,  entitled: 
"Sermons  Addressed  to  Masters  and  Servants,  and  Published 


31.  L.  W.  Burton,  History  of  Henrico  Parish  and  St.  John's  Church. 
Edited  and   Compiled  by  J.  Stanton   Moore. 

"List   of  marriages   from   1815   to   1842— Rev.   Wm.   H.   Hart." 
"At  Richmond,  Va.,  March  2,  1816 — Jacob,  slave  to  Miss  Sherbrooke 
and   Eva,  slave   to   Mr.   Thos.   Bohannon." 

"At  Richmond,  Va.,   May  15,   1823 — Ned  Lightfoot  and   Sophy   Buck, 
both  free  people  of  color;  license  bearing  date  as  above." 
"Baptisms" 

"Baptized  at  Richmond,  September  13,  1816,  Joseph  Wills,  a  black 
infant,  the  property  of  Mr.  John  Adams." 

"Baptised  at  Richmond,  October  17,  1816,  Ann  Eliza  and  James  Al 
fred,  children  of  Wm.  and  Elizabeth  Ricardson." 

In  1824  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Richmond,  Va.,  could  report  a 
membership  of  820.  Of  this  number  the  larger  portion  were  free 
Negroes  and  Slaves.  See  First  Century  of  the  First  Baptist  Church 
of  Richmond,  Va.,  p.  68. 

32.  Revised    Code   of  Virginia,   1819,   pp.   424,   425. 

33.  Supplement   to    code    of   1833,    p.    246. 

34.  Weeds   "Slavery  as   It   Is,"  p.   51. 


70  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

in  the  Year  1743  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bacon,  Minister  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Maryland.  Now  republished 
with  other  Tracts  and  Dialogues  on  the  same  subject  and  rec 
ommended  to  all  Masters  and  Ministers  to  be  used  in  their 
families  by  the  Rev.  William  Meade  Winchester  John  Heiskell 
Printer."  This  volume  contained  six  sermons  on  two  texts, 
Colossians  4:1  and  Ephesians  6:8;  Dr.  Cotton  Mather's  reso 
lutions  concerning"  slaves,  the  Ten  Commandments  with  ex 
planatory  passages  of  Scripture;  and  dialogues.  The  idea  of 
the  book  is  well  expressed  in  its  own  words:  "I  shall  there 
fore  confine  myself  to  one,  and  that  indeed  a  principal  branch 
of  this  duty,  viz :  The  indispensable  obligation  of  every 
Master  and  Mistress  lies  under  of  bringing  up  their  slaves  in 
the  knowledge  and  fear  of  Almighty  God." 

In  1822,  Rev.  John  Mines,  Moravian  Brother,  pastor  of  a 
church  at  Leesburg,  Va.,  published  at  Richmond,  "The 
Evangelical  Catechism,  or  a  plain  and  easy  system  of  the 
principal  doctrines  and  duties  of  the  Christian  religion. 
Adapted  to  the  use  of  Sabbath  schools  and  families,  with  a 
new  method  of  instructing  those  who  can  not  read."  The 
"new  method"  of  instruction  was  simply  an  arrangement  for 
oral  instruction.  It  is  certain  that  the  development  of  the 
memory  under  the  new  system  was  remarkable.35  It  must  be 
remembered  that  even  when  the  laws  frowned  upon  the  increase 
of  learning  among  the  Negroes,  the  Virginia  masters  taught 
certain  of  their  slaves  in  private.  That  consistent  friend  of  the 
Negro,  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice,  brought  especially  the  need  of  re 
ligious  instruction  for  the  blacks,  to  the  attention  of  the  citi 
zens  of  Virginia  through  a  sermon  on  the  duties  of  the  masters 
to  educate  and  baptize  their  slaves,  published  in  the  Evangelical 
and  Literary  Magazine,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  613,  614.  This  was  in 
1829.36  It  is  certain  that  one  of  his  prominent  reasons  for  aid 
ing  so  materially  in  the  establishment  of  the  Prince  Edward 
Theological  Seminary  was  his  desire  to  raise  up  a  ministry  ac 
quainted  with  the  problems  of  masters  and  servants.  The 
seriousness  wrhich  entered  into  an  attempt  to  solve  this  Negro 


35.  Adams,    Southside    View   of   Slavery,    p.    57. 

36.  Harrison  and  Barnes — pp.  73,  74. 


REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE    NEGRO  71 

religious  problem  in  that  day  is  practically  beyond  the  compre 
hension  of  any  white  man  of  this  day.  We  simply  have  to  go 
back  a  century  or  so  to  learn  how  to  do  work  for  the  religious 
development  of  the  Negro.  The  leaders  of  this  work  in  our 
day  are  rarely  original ;  they  have  only  learned  a  lesson  at  the 
feet  of  their  forefathers  that  they  adapt  to  the  new  situations. 
A  memorial  of  the  Richmond  and  Manchester  Colonization 
Society  presented  to  the  Legislature  in  1826  reminds  us  that 
one  of  the  great  aims  of  the  organization  was  to  settle  free 
people  of  color  on  the  coast  of  Africa  in  such  a  situation  as  not 
only  to  promote  their  happiness  but  also  to  "enable  them  to 
spread  Christianity  and  civilization  among  the  people  adjacent 
to  their  settlement,  and  gradually  through  that  vast  continent," 
etc.37  This  twofold  purpose  assumed  that  the  ones  in  Africa 
needed  Christianization  and  civilizing,  and  further  assumed  that 
the  free  people  of  color  of  this  country  had  both.38  Only  a 
blind  man  could  fail  to  see  that  the  Negro  had  already  under 
gone  a  marvelous  change  religiously,  and  as  he  was  removed 
by  time,  farther  and  farther  away  from  superstition,  he  was 
destined  to  undergo  still  greater  changes  for  his  betterment. 
Under  stress  of  eking  out  an  existence  in  Africa  the  few  sent 
from  this  country  failed  to  act  as  leaven  in  the  lump.  What 
might  have  been  done  if  the  Colonization  Society  had  been 
successful  in  securing  a  large  emigration  to  Africa  no  one  can 
say.  It  is  enough  for  our  present  purposes  to  know  that  its 
promoters  in  Virginia  expressed,  and  doubtless  felt,  confidence 
and  a  strong  interest  in  the  Christian  Negro  and  realized  his 
possibilities,  in  part,  at  least. 


37.  MS.    Petition    Henrico    A9359. 

38.  Virginians   however   were   not  blind   to   the   defects   of  the   free 
Negroes,   as    is    seen    in   the    Memorial    of   the    Virginia    Colonization 
Society  presented  some  years  later — in  Feb.  1833 — which  says  in  part: 
"They  are  (with  some  happy  exceptions)  a  thriftless  and  vicious  race, 
degraded  in  the  eyes  of  the  public  and  even  in  their  own;  and  ready 
accordingly  for  acts  of  violence  and  crime,  etc."     MS.  Petition — Hen 
rico  A9456.     As  the  years  rolled  on,  Virginians  thought  less  and  less 
of  the   free   Negro.     The  ante-bellum   white   men   to  whom   we   have 
talked   are   unanimous   in   lauding  the   slave   Negro   and   disapproving 
the  Negroes  who  wrere  free. 


72  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   oF   THE    NEGRO 

A  few  years  before  this,  in  1823,  a  petition  was  presented  to 
the  Legislature  by  free  Negroes  of  Richmond  that  shows  a  lack 
of  church  facilities  for  persons  of  color.  Race  consciousness 
in  things  religious  tending  towards  church  independence  was 
very  apparent  in  this  document,  yet  an  excellent  spirit  per 
vaded  the  whole.  The  unusual  value  of  the  petition  as  a  reflec 
tion  of  the  religious  history  of  the  time  is  so  manifest  that  we 
shall  present  it  in  full. 

"To  the  Honorable  the  Speaker  and  Members  of  the  House  of 
Delegates  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia.39  The  petition  of 
a  number  of  persons  of  colour  residing  in  the  City  of  Richmond 
respectfully  requests ;  that  from  the  rapid  increase  of  popula 
tion  in  this  city,  the  number  of  free  persons  of  colour  and  slaves 
has  become  very  considerable,  and  altho  few  of  them  can  boast 
any  knowledge  of  letters,  yet,  that  they  are  always  anxious  of 
receiving  such  instruction  from  public  and  divine  worship  as 
may  be  given  by  sensible  and  prudent  Teachers  of  religion. 

"It  has  been  the  misfortune  of  your  petitioners  to  be  excluded 
from  the  churches,  Meeting  Houses,  and  other  places  of  public 
devotion  which  are  used  by  white  persons,  in  consequence  of  no 
appropriate  place  being  assigned  for  them,  except  in  a  few 
Houses  and  they  have  been  compelled  to  look  to  private 
Houses,  where  they  are  much  crowded  and  where  a  portion  of 
their  Brethren  are  unable  to  hear  or  to  partake  of  the  worship 
which  is  going  on.  Your  petitioners  consisting  of  free  persons 
and  slaves,  have  been  for  some  time  associated  with  the  Baptist 
church,  a  list  of  their  members  consisting  of  about  700  persons 
has  been  submitted  for  his  inspection  to  the  Head  of  the  Police 
of  this  City,  and  no  objection  has  been  by  him  made  to  their 
moral  character. 

"Your  petitioners  for  these  reasons  humbly  pray  that  your 
honorable  body  will  pass  a  law  authorizing  them  to  cause  to  be 
erected  within  this  city,  a  House  of  public  worship  which  may 
be  called  the  Baptist  African  Church.  Your  petitioners  are 
aware  that  they  cannot  reasonably  expect  such  a  privilege  to  be 
conferred  upon  them,  except  under  such  restrictions  and  re 
straints  as  are  consistent  with  the  laws  now  existing  or  which 


39.  MS.    Legislative    Petition    Henrico   A    9335. 


REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  73 

may  hereafter  be  passed  for  the  proper  restraint  of  persons  of 
colour  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  peace  and  good  order  of 
society.  To  such  restraints  and  restrictions  they  are  prepared 
most  cheerfully  to  submit  and  altho  it  would  be  pleasing  to  them 
to  have  a  voice  in  the  choice  of  their  Teachers,  yet  would  they 
be  quite  satisfied  that  any  choice  made  by  them  should  be  ap 
proved  or  rejected  by  the  Mayor  of  this  City.  They  ask  not  for 
the  privilege  of  continuing  in  office  any  preacher  who  shall  in 
any  manner  have  rendered  himself  obnoxious  to  the  Mayor  nor 
can  they  reasonably  expect  to  hold  night  meetings  or  assemblages 
for  Baptizing  but  with  the  consent  of  that  officer,  and  your 
Petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever  pray." 

This  petition  is  signed  by  92  free  persons  of  color  of  the 
Baptist  denomination  in  Richmond.  The  Mayor  approved  of 
the  petitioners  and  the  petition  in  these  words :  "I  hereby  cer 
tify  that  I  have  examined  the  list  of  Signatures  of  free  persons 
of  color  hereunto  attached  and  believe  them  to  be  respectable. 

"I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  prayer  of  this  petition,  if  granted, 
may  be  productive  of  benefit  to  themselves  as  well  as  to  the  white 
population  of  Richmond  and  most  sincerely  wish  them  Success. 

"John  Adams,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Richmond." 

The  Master  of  Police  endorsed  the  proposition  thus :  "So  far 
as  I  know,  or  have  heard  of  the  Characters  and  conduct  of 
the  free  persons  of  colour  who  have  signed  this  petition  I  be 
lieve  them  to  be  orderly,  well  disposed  persons :  many  ot  them 
I  know  to  be  men  of  good  characters.  If  what  they  ask  for,  in 
their  petition  be  granted  them  by  the  Legislature  under  the  re 
straints  suggested  therein,  I  believe  a  benefit  would  result  as 
well  to  the  white,  as  the  coloured  population,  of  the  City  of 
Richmond. 

"Joseph  F.  Price 

"Master  of  Police." 

Several  gentlemen  other  than  the  above-mentioned  ones  con 
sidered  the  petition  reasonable  and  endorsed  the  characters  of 
the  petitioners.  The  Petition  was  presented  on  the  3d  of  De 
cember,  1823,  and  a  bill  was  reported  on  the  10th,  but  it  seems 
that  it  did  not  pass.  All  in  all,  at  this  time  we  can  be  sure  that 
a  minority  of  Negroes  attended  worship  in  the  white  Christian 


74  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

churches,  yet  a  regrettable  neglect  of  their  religious  facilities,  as 
well  as  instruction,  was  all  too  frequent.  The  whites  still  had 
much  to  do. 

This  growing  interest  in  the  care  of  Negroes  received  a  rude 
shock  which  was  truly  staggering,  when  a  Negro  preacher  named 
Nat  Turner  led  the  notorious  Southampton  slave  insurrection 
in  the  summer  of  183 1.40  About  sixty-one  lives  were  snuffed 
out  by  Turner  and  his  followers  amid  scenes  of  revolting  cruelty 
in  this  Sunday  night  and  Monday  morning  raid.41  Nat  Turner 
seems  to  have  been  fitted  by  nature  for  the  miserable  role  he 
played  in  life.  His  birth  took  place  live  days  before  the  execu 
tion  of  Gabriel  Prosser  and  five  months  after  the  birth  of  John 
Brown.  His  father  was  a  runaway  slave  and  was  never  recov 
ered.  Nat's  early  life  exhibited 'marked  signs  of  precocity  and  he 
was  led  to  believe  while  still  a  child  that  he  was  a  prophet.  In 
attendance  at  church  he  was  very  regular  and  eventually  became 
a  preacher.  His  emphasis  on  the  mystic  element  gave  him  a 
strong  grip  on  the  slaves,  and  he  was  shrewd  enough  to  live 
apart  from  most  of  the  Negroes — often  going  in  the  woods  to 
remain.  He  saw  signs  on  leaves,  shrubs  and  in  the  heavens,  and 
voices  spoke  to  him  even  at  the  plow,  as  he  thought,  revealing 
the  secrets  of  the  divine  will.  Such  a  character  was  a  fit  indi 
vidual  to  lead  his  band  of  deluded,  ignorant,  black  men  in  such 
a  career  of  nefarious  butchery.  A  curious  appearance  of  the 
sun  on  August  13th  1831,42  was  the  sign  that  settled  his  resolve 
to  make  a  strike  for  freedom.  Without  warning,  the  career  of 
murder  began  during  a  warm  summer  night  when  houses  were 
generally  unlocked  and  the  masters  sleeping.  Neither  men, 
women,  nor  children  were  spared  in  the  murderous  career.  A 
determined  stand,  however,  by  a  few  whites  at  Parker's  field 
was  the  first  real  obstruction  that  they  met.  This  so  demoral 
ized  the  Negroes,  many  of  whom  were  drunk  from  swilling  apple 
brandy,  that  they  scattered,  and  their  reign  of  terror  was  brought 


40.  Slave    Insurrections    in    Virginia     (1830-1865),    W.     S.    Drewry, 
p.  25. 

41.  Slave    Insurrections   in   Virginia    (1830-1865),   W.    S.    Drewry,    p. 
196. 

42.  Willias  S.  Forrest — Historical  and  Descriptive  Sketches  of  Nor 
folk  and  Vicinity,  p.   192. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE    NEGRO  75 

to  an  end  by  the  capture  and  conviction  of  many  of  the  Negroes 
involved.43  The  whites  were  naturally  goaded  to  fury  by  this 
uprising,  yet  the  remarkable  feature  of  it  all  was  the  quickness 
with  which  quietude  and  justice  resumed  the  places  so  violently 
usurped  by  insurrection  and  anarchy. 

Governor  Floyd  of  Virginia  and  many  others  had  long  felt 
that  the  religion  of  the  Negroes  was  little  better  than  supersti 
tion.  This  tragedy  confirmed  their  opinion.  The  open  appear 
ance  of  the  abolition  movement  had  taken  place  m  the  early 
part  of  1831,  at  Boston — only  a  few  months  before  "Old  Nat's 
War" — under  the  leadership  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison.44 
Quakers  had  been  ordered  to  free  their  slaves  or  be  excommuni 
cated  long  before  this,  and  the  ideas  of  freedom  were  in  the  air 
to  such  an  extent  that  many  Virginia  masters  had  manumitted 
many  slaves  before  this  date.  Now  all  was  doubt.  Many  things 
made  it  necessary  that  a  feeling  of  greater  security  should  pre 
vail  in  Virginia.  Who  could  know  when  another  plot  was  being 
prepared?  While  this  feeling  of  uncertainty  was  still  preva 
lent,  Gov.  John  Floyd  sent  this  trenchant  message  to  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Delegates  of  Virginia  on  Dec.  6th,  1831  :  "The 
most  active  among  ourselves  in  stirring  up  the  spirit  of  revolt 
have  been  the  Negro  preachers.  They  had  acquired  great  as 
cendancy  over  the  minds  of  their  fellows,  and  infused  all  their 
opinions  which  had  prepared  them  for  the  development  of  the 
final  design ;  there  is  also  some  reason  to  believe  those  preach 
ers  have  perfect  understanding  in  relation  to  these  plans  through 
out  the  eastern  counties ;  and  have  been  the  channels  through 
which  the  inflammatory  papers  and  pamphlets,  brought  here  by 
the  agents  and  emissaries  from  other  States,  have  been  circu 
lated  amongst  our  slaves.  The  facilities  thus  afforded  for  plot 
ting  treason  and  conspiracy  to  rebel  and  make  insurrection,  have 
been  great.  Through  the  indulgence  of  the  magistracy  and  the 
laws  large  collections  of  slaves  have  been  permitted  to  take 
place,  at  any  time  through  the  week  for  the  ostensible  purpose 
of  indulging  in  religious  worship  but  in  many  instances  the  real 


43.  For  full  details  of  all  this  insurrection  See  Drewry,  "Slave   In 
surrections   in   Virginia." 

44.  Burgess,   John    W.    The    Middle    Period.    1817-1858.    p.    246. 


76  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

purpose  with  the  preacher  was  of  a  different  character.  The 
sentiments  and  sometimes  the  words  of  these  inflammatory 
pamphlets,  which  the  meek  and  charitable  of  other  States  have 
seen  cause  to  distribute  as  firebrands  in  the  bosom  of  our  so 
ciety,  have  been  read The  public  good  requires  the 

negro  preachers  to  be  silenced,  who  full  of  ignorance,  are  in 
capable  of  inculcating  anything  but  notions  of  the  wildest  super 
stition,  thus  preparing  fit  instruments  in  the  hands  of  the  crafty 
agitators  to  destroy  the  public  tranquility."  45 

With  this  executive  message  before  it  the  General  Assembly 
enacted  the  bill  of  March  15th,  1832.  By  this  act  no  Negro, 
ordained,  licensed  or  otherwise,  was  permitted  to  hold  religious 
or  other  assemblies  at  any  time.  The  punishment  prescribed 
for  the  offender  was  stripes  not  exceeding  thirty-nine.  All  Ne 
groes  were  forbidden  to  attend  any  such  preachings,  etc.,  when 
such  were  conducted  by  a  Negro.  Without  written  permission 
from  his  owner  or  overseer,  a  Negro  attending  night  services 
even  when  conducted  by  a  white  ordained  minister  was  subject 
to  the  same  punishment — lashes  not  exceeding  thirty-nine.  The 
arrest  in  any  of  the  above  cases  would  take  place  without  written 
precept.  All  of  the  regulations  above  were  subject  to  the  follow 
ing  provisos :  ( 1 )  That  nothing  in  the  above  should  prevent 
Negroes  from  being  carried  or  going  to  places  of  religious  wor 
ship  with  their  masters  or  employers  or  with  persons  on  whose 
property  they  live,  when  such  service  is  conducted  by  a  white 
ordained  minister  in  the  night  time;  (2)  that  the  above  should 
not  prohibit  a  white  licensed  or  ordained  minister,  or  a  layman 
licensed  by  his  denomination  for  the  purpose,  from  preaching 
or  giving  religious  instructions  to  the  Negroes  in  the  day  time ; 
nor  deprive  the  master  of  the  right  to  employ  suitable  persons 
to  instruct  his  slaves ;  nor  prevent  the  assembly  of  the  slaves  of 
any  one  owner  for  religious  devotion  at  any  time.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  act  was  not  framed  to  lessen  the  growth  of 
the  Negro  religiously,  but  was  a  removal  of  the  very  opportu 
nity  of  insurrectionary  evil  and  was  deemed  a  step  toward  a 
deeper  religious  life  for  that  race.  The  honor  of  the  State  of 
Virginia  has  often  suffered  in  that  many  a  biased  writer  has 


45.  House  Journal  1831-2,  p.  10. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  77 

quoted  the  first  part  of  this  act  and  has  enlarged  upon  the  crime 
of  silencing1  the  Negro  preachers  and  forbidding  Negro  assem 
blies,  yet  has  been  so  unfair  as  to  fail  to  show  that  the  religious 
welfare  of  the  Negro  was  provided  for  and  not  neglected. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  heat  of  debate  many  men  made  rash  state 
ments  ;    many  statements  were  misconstrued ;    many  conclusions 
were  jumped  at;    many  things   were  looked   at   from   only  one 
viewpoint.     During  the  great   slavery  debate  in   the   House  of 
Delegates   when   Virginia  came  so  near  approving  a  policy   of 
gradual  emancipation,  Mr.  Berry,  of  Jefferson  County,  speaking 
on  Friday,   Jan.  20,   1832,  said :    "We  have  as   far  as  possible 
closed  every  avenue  by  which  light  might  enter  the  slaves'  minds. 
If  we  could  extinguish  the  capacity  to  see  the  light,  our  work 
would  be  completed ;    they  would  then  be  on  a  level  with  the 
beasts  of  the  field  and  we  should  be  safe !     I  am  not  certain 
that  we  should  not  do  it,  if  we  could  find  out  the  process,  and 
that  on  the  plea  of   necessity." 46     In  contradistinction  to  this 
radical  utterance  the  other  debaters  on  both  sides  usually  spoke 
with  great  kindness  of  the  masters  trying  to  aid  their  Negroes, 
yet  recognizing  the  knotty  problem  that  the  Negroes  were  and 
would   be.      Such   oratorical   flights   as    Mr.    Berry   indulged   in, 
while  not  in  strict  accord  with  facts,  are  rolled  as  sweet  mor 
sels  under  the  tongues,  and  are  quoted  with  as  much  confidence 
as  if  they  had  been  Holy  Writ  by  those  who  have  seen  only  one 
side  of  the  great  slavery  system  of  Virginia.     It  is  true  that  the 
methods  of  this  early  day  may  have  produced  a  Nat  Turner, 
too  religious,  or  may  have  produced  some,  not  religious  at  all, 
yet  a  definite  effort  was  made  by  a  large  percentage  of  the  good 
people  of  Virginia  to  provide  for  the  religious  training  of  the 
Negro;   and  their  success  can  be  judged  by  the  product,  for  ver 
ily  there  is  no  controverting  the  fact,  "by  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them." 

That  the  Negro  achieved  as  much  as  he  did  religiously, 
however,  is  much  to  his  own  credit,  since  there  were  cer 
tainly  many  obstacles.  A  petition  was  presented  to  the  Legis 
lature  in  1834,  signed  by  free  persons  of  color,  and  endorsed 
by  practically  all  the  white  ministers  of  Richmond,  as  well  as  by 


46.  Virginia  Slavery   Debate,   B.  W.   Leigh. 


78  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

several  prominent  law  citizens.  In  this  document  the  petitioners 
recite  that  because  of  the  operation  of  the  Act  of  March  15th, 
1832,  many  colored  human  beings  are  interred  like  brutes,  their 
relatives  and  friends  being  unable  to  procure  white  ministers  to 
perform  the  usual  ceremony  in  the  burial  of  the  dead.  "Your 
memorialists  therefore  pray  the  passage  of  a  law  authorizing 
free  persons  of  colour,  as  well  as  slaves,  to  perform  the  cere 
mony  usual  on  such  occasions  by  white  ministers ;  provided,  they 
obtain  a  License  for  that  purpose  from  the  Pastor  of  the  church 
to  which  they  respectively  belong  for  a  limited  period."  41  The 
wanton  neglect  that  made  it  necessary  to  present  this  petition 
appears  unjustifiable.  It  seems,  however,  that  although  this 
petition  was  not  granted,  yet  the  defects  were  probably  remedied, 
as  no  more  such  petitions  were  presented.  In  spite  of  definite 
policies  which  tended  to  Christianize  the  Negroes  and  in  spite  of 
many  efforts  in  their  behalf,  the  religious  growth  of  the  Negroes 
appeared  to  be  in  eclipse  from  1831  until  nearly  1845.  Of 
course  we  do  not  intimate  that  all  its  progress  was  stopped,  but 
rather  that  the  reaction  from  "old  Nat's  War"  temporarily  over 
shadowed  the  interest  in  work  for  their  religious  development. 
When  the  eclipse  period  was  over,  the  brightness  seemed  much 
greater  than  ever  before.  And  it  really  was,  too. 

The  famous  First  African  Church  was  organized  about  1841  4S 
and  the  religious  life  of  Negroes  who  attended  there  soon  re 
ceived  the  best  attention.  At  other  places  the  Negroes  were 
members  of  the  white  churches.  Scott  and  Ailcy,  his  wife,  eman 
cipated  Negroes,  and  the  one  hundred  and  thirty  or  more  sign 
ers  of  their  petition  of  1836  requesting  that  the  two  Negroes 
be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  State,  laid  great  emphasis  on  the  fact 
of  their  membership  in  the  Baptist  Church  and  an  "attachment 
to  the  members  of  the  church  to  which  they  belong  and  their 


47.  MS.   Petition   Henrico  A9483. 

lohn  Marshall,  Chief  Justice  of  the  U.  S.,  in  endorsing  this  pe 
tition  said:  "I  am  not  apprised  of  any  mischief  which  would  prob 
ably  result  from  following  the  prayer  of  this  petition.  Should  this 
be  correct  I  think  humanity  would  dictate  that  the  prayer  of  the  pe 
tition  be  granted  with  any  safeguards  which  the  wisdom  of  the  leg 
islature  may  suggest." 

48.  The  First  Century  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  p.  254. 


REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  79 

neighbors  generally."49  It  is  said  that  up  to  1838  no  special 
slave  mission  was  reported  in  Virginia,  yet  in  the  larger  cities 
and  even  in  some  small  towns  there  were  flourishing  colored 
charges.  Norfolk  was  especially  noticeable  with  its  Negro  mem 
bership  of  337 — more  than  the  white  membership  of  that  city.50 
In  a  letter  which  \ve  have  in  our  possession  written  by  Mr. 
Thos.  B.  Rowland,  one  of  Norfolk's  oldest  and  best  informed 
citizens,  concerning  the  city's  early  history,  he  states  that  a  Mrs. 
John  Taylor,  a  wealthy  Church  of  England  lady,  aided  largely, 
if  she  did  not  bear  all  the  expense,  of  the  erection  of  an  African 
Church  in  Bute  Street,  about  the  year  1832.  A  white  minister 
was  in  charge.  At  Charlotte  and  Catharine  Streets  (now  Bank 
Street)  some  years  later  the  Negro  Baptists  had  a  good  church 
which  they  bought  from  the  Presbyterians.  Tradition  has  it  that 
Old  St.  Paul's  when  abandoned  about  1816  was  partly  used  by 
Colored  Baptists.  Mr.  Rowland  further  states  that  good  fam 
ilies  in  the  olden  days  always  had  morning  and  evening  prayers 
and  to  these  the  dependents  were  required  to  be  present. 

There  were  many  masters  who  proved  that  slavery  could  be 
come  a  paternalistic  form  of  government.  Col.  Thomas  Dab- 
ney,  who  lived  at  "Elmington,"  Gloucester  County,  Va.,  left  the 
delightful  neighborhood  in  which  he  lived  at  a  time  when  many 
others  were  moving  farther  South,  because  the  expense  was  great 
in  raising  his  own  family  and  because  he  was  dissatisfied  with  the 
amount  of  food  that  he  could  give  to  his  Negroes.51  He  made 
ample  provision  that  not  a  single  Negro  family  should  be  sepa 
rated  by  his  removal  front  the  State.  This  tearing  asunder  of 
family  ties  was  a  very  infrequent  occurrence  in  Virginia — usually 
only  at  a  time  of  bankruptcy,  when  the  buyer  could  not  be  per 
suaded  to  take  the  whole  family,  or  in  the  division  of  an  estate 
among  heirs  who  would  neither  buy  nor  sell.  In  the  words  of 
an  old  Negro,  Mammy  Harriet,  we  can  glimpse  a  bit  of  the  de 
votion  felt  by  slaves  for  a  good  master:  "My  husband  b'long 
to  Cappen  Edward  Tabb,  an'  marster  went  dyar  twice  to  try. to 


49.  MS.    Petition    Floyd    Co.    A   6081. 

50.  Such,    at    least,    is    the    surprising    statement    in    Harrison    and 
Barnes,  p.  189. 

51.  Memorials  of  a  Southern  Planter.  Susan  Dabney  Smedes,  p.  42. 


80  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

buy  him.  But  Cappen  Tabb  say  that  no  money  couldn't  buy 
him  from  him.  Den  Mrs.  Tabb  say  dat  she  would  buy  me,  an' 
two  odder  people  dyar  wanted  to  buy  me,  too.  But  I  say  'No 
indeed.  Go  'long.  I  shall  follow  k  my  marster.'  "  52  And  she 
went  to  Mississippi,  too.  The  frequent  presence  of  ministers  at 
Col.  Dabney's  hospitable  homes,  whether  at  "Elmington"  in 
Virginia,  or  at  "Burleigh"  in  Mississippi,  insured  religious  at 
tention  to  his  slaves,  since  Col.  Dabney's  care  of  his  slaves  was, 
as  far  as  the  records  show,  complete.  As  an  old  Negro  said : 
"Marster  'lowed  us  to  hab  meeting  just  as  much  meetin'  as  we 
chose.  A  heap  o'  people  didn't  let  day  people  hab  meetin' ;  didn't 
like  for  dem  to  visit  to  see  udder  people.  Marster  warn'  dat 
way."  53  Such  high  testimonials  are  necessarily  rare  because 
very  few  persons  preserved  the  sentiments  of  their  slaves ;  had 
they  done  so  an  invaluable  record  would  have  been  preserved  by 
a  handsome  majority  telling  of  loving  ministrations,  kind  rela 
tionships,  and  religious  care. 

By  1844  the  Methodists  of  the  United  States  had  split  into 
two  churches,  North  and  South,  because  of  divergent  views  on 
the  subject  of  slavery  and  in  1846  the  Church,  South,  met  in  its 
First  General  Conference  at  Petersburg,  Va.54  The  recoil  from 
this  breaking  asunder  required  some  little  time  for  adjustment, 
then  the  church  South  saw  that  its  zeal  must  be  redoubled  in 
behalf  of  the  Negroes  if  it  would  show  to  the  world  one  of  the 
best  benefits  bestowed  by  slavery  on  a  non-Christian  people. 
This  church  became  very  liberal  in  employing  Southern  whites 
to  work  among  the  Negroes.  Such  missionaries  devoted  them 
selves  exclusively  to  the  religious  welfare  of  their  charges  and 
did  not  become  involved  in  controversies  over  the  civil  relations 
of  the  Negroes.  In  fact  all  the  Southern  churches  were  aroused. 
"As  the  abolition  controversy  waxed  fiercer,  the  zeal  for  the 
negro  missions  waxed  warmer;  as  abolition  societies  multiplied 
at  the  North,  missions  among  the  slaves  multiplied  at  the  South ; 
as  plans  and  messages  for  the  final  extirpation  of  slavery  were 
growing  into  grander  proportions  at  the  North,  plans  and  meas- 


52.  Ibid.,  p.  48. 

53.  Memorials  of  a  Southern  Planter — Susan  Dabney  Smedes.  p.  58. 

54.  McTyeire — Hist,   of  Methodism,  pp.   637,  8. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  81 

tires  for  the  salvation  of  the  slaves  were  rapidly  enlarging  at  the 
South." 55  From  the  Proceedings  of  the  Twenty-Second  An 
nual  Meeting  of  the  Baptist  General  Association  of  Virginia, 
assembled  in  Lynchburg,  Va.,  on  May  31st,  1845,  we  learn  that 
after  a  resolution  had  been  unanimously  adopted  to  that  effect, 
a  committee  of  seven  was  appointed  "to  inquire  into,  and  report 
the  best  means  of  securing  more  efficient  religious  instruction 
for  our  colored  population."  56  This  committee  brought  in  its 
report  and  in  a  preamble  stated  that  it  believed  that  the  moral 
and  religious  training  of  Negroes  had  been  neglected,  and  sug 
gested  that  part  of  the  blame  was  to  be  laid  on  the  activities  of 
the  Abolitionists.  It  realized  the  difficulties  of  the  situation,  con 
gratulated  those  churches  and  pastors  that  had  begun  the  work 
for  Negroes  and  offered  three  resolutions :  ( 1 )  That  services 
should  be  held  for  Negroes  on  the  afternoon  of  every  Sunday 
when  practicable;  (2)  that  religious  masters  invite  their  serv 
ants  to  family  prayers;  (3)  that  the  church  endeavor  to  bring 
Negroes  into  the  temperance  reformation.  All  of  these  were 
adopted  and  the  committee  was  discharged. 

The  First  African  Church  of  Richmond,  Va.,  with  its  distin 
guished  pastor  leading  in  good  works,  had  already  begun  its 
notable  career,  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  this  edifice  served 
not  only  as  a  church  for  the  Negroes,  but  was  frequently  used 
for  large  political  gatherings  by  the  white  citizens.57  The  whites 
and  blacks  had  been  attending  together  the  First  Baptist  Church, 
but  the  presence  of  such  a  great  Negro  membership  and  the 
lack  of  sittings  for  these  eager  listeners  and  the  impossibility  of 
giving  them  the  attention  necessary,  seemed  to  militate  against 
the  best  interests  of  the  church.58  The  whites  were  anxious  also 
for  a  more  beautiful  building  than  the  old  one,  and  as  no  ade- 


55.  Methodist    Quarterly   Review   1866.     Article   entitled   "Relations 
of  the   Colored   People   to   the   Methodist   Episcopal   Church,   South." 

56.  Minutes  of  the  Conventions  preserved  in  Baptist  Historical  So 
ciety   at   Richmond,   Va. 

57.  See   Richmond  Whig.,  Apr.   25th,    1851   et  passim. 

58.  Basis  of  the  following  account  is  a  paper  entitled  "Origin  and 
History  of  the   First  African   Church,"  by  Robert  Ryland,  Published 
in   "First    Century   of   the    First    Baptist    Church    of    Richmond,    Va." 
Pp.  245-272. 


82  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

qnate  plan  was  presented  for  the  proper  disposition  of  both 
races,  it  was  considered  advisable  that  the  blacks  should  be  al 
lowed  to  buy  the  old  property  for  a  little  more  than  half  of  its 
appraised  value,  and  then  have  title  to  it  as  their  own  church. 
Legal  doubts  were  soon  settled  by  finding  that  a  Negro  church 
was  not  in  opposition  to  State  laws  provided  it  had  a  white  min 
ister.  The  experiment  was  considered  a  doubtful  one,  however. 
To  allay  any  possible  hostile  public  sentiment  the  First  Church 
appointed  a  committee  of  eight  white  men  to  elect  the  pastor  and 
in  turn,  attend  public  worship  with  him.  Dr.  J.  B.  Jeter,  pastor 
of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  drew  up  the  constitution  for  the 
African  Church,  and  this  provided  for  the  selection  of  thirty 
deacons  and  a  white  pastor  by  the  committee  of  eighteen  sub 
ject  to  the  approval  of  the  congregation.  Vacancies  in  the 
Board  of  deacons  were  to  be  filled  by  popular  vote  and  the  pastor 
and  this  Board  were  to  be  the  ruling  powers  in  the  church.  No 
less  a  personage  than  the  President  of  Richmond  College,  Dr. 
Robert  Ryland,  in  consideration  of  many  noble  reflections,  con 
sented  to  be  their  pastor.  He  undertook  his  duties  in  October, 
1841,  and  was  their  pastor  continuously  until  after  the  War. 
His  policy  was  to  treat  them  as  he  treated  the  whites  "with  the 
greatest  possible  respect!'  His  discipline  was  thorough  and  his 
habit  of  instructing  them  in  doctrines  gave  them  something  sub 
stantial.  One  of  the  most  valuable  acts  that  he  performed  for 
them  was  the  writing  of  a  Catechism  of  fifty-two  lessons  which 
was  so  arranged  that  questions  could  be  answered  "yes"  or  "no," 
with  corroborative  Scriptures.  This  partly  explains  why  many 
of  the  missionaries  who  invaded  this  State  after  the  war  ex 
pressed  such  profound  surprise  that  some  of  the  Negroes  knew 
so  much  of  the  Bible.  Young  theologues  from  the  College  would 
sometimes  descend  on  the  congregation  and  preach  in  response 
to  Dr.  Ryland's  request.  The  Negro  was  an  excellent  judge  of 
good  preaching,  if  he  had  been  raised  on  the  right  kind.  One 
young  man  from  the  College  after  an  animated  effort  heard 
Deacon  Simms,  a  black  brother,  importune  the  Lord  for  large 
grace  "on  our  stripling  young  brother  that  is  trying  to  learn  how 
to  preach."  The  Negroes  were  mighty  in  prayer.59  Good  order 


59.  Adams,  Southside  View  of  Slavery,  p.  55. 


RKUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  83 

was  at  all  times  rigorously  observed ;  finances  in  this  church  were 
always  in  good  condition.  Between  1841  and  1855  the  church 
grew  from  1,000  to  3,000,  so  a  colony,  the  Ebenezer  Baptist 
Church,  was  set  up.  In  spite  of  an  insistence  on  a  man's  know 
ing  the  principles  of  Christianity  and  after  making  the  applicant 
wait  through  periods  of  probation,  there  were  3,832  additions 
by  baptism  to  the  African  Church  between  October  1st,  1841, 
and  July  1st,  1865.  After  this  later  date  Dr.  Ryland's  services 
were  no  longer  required  by  the  freedmen. 

This  rather  full  description  of  this  remarkable  church  has 
been  presented  because  it  is  based  upon  one  of  the  very  few 
reliable  accounts  written  on  the  subject  of  Negro  church  his 
tories.  It  was  representative  of  similar  work,  being  undertaken 
elsewhere  with  great  success,  when  the  estrangement  preceding 
Reconstruction  drove  the  races  apart.  It  must  be  evident  from 
the  foregoing  that  the  Negro  is  capable  of  attaining  a  good  re 
ligious  standing,  if  he  has  the  proper  leadership  and  is  put  un 
der  proper  restraints.  In  the  absence  of  either  of  these  de 
terminants  his  religious  life  suffers. 

Among  the  Presbyterians  a  noble  work  had  already  been  in 
progress  for  years  throughout  the  state,  but  an  extraordinarily 
famous  name  added  to  those  doing  such  work  at  one  place  made 
this  special  field  of  labor  doubly  famous.  A  Sunday-School  for 
Negro  slaves  was  established  in  Lexington,  Va.,  by  Dr.  W.  H. 
Ruffner  and  Rev.  Tucker  Lacy  in  1845  with  "upwards  of  100 
pupils  and  plenty  of  white  teachers."60  After  the  removal  of 
these  two  gentlemen  from  Lexington,  the  school  languished,  until 
in  1856  Major  T.  J.  Jackson,  later  Gen.  "Stonewall"  Jackson, 
reorganized  it.  This  great  man  devoted  himself  to  this  work 
with  his  customary  zeal,  consequently  success  was  great.  He 
gave  reports  monthly  in  person  to  every  master  showing  the 
progress  or  defects  of  the  slaves,  and  he  was  punctual  in  attend 
ance  himself  and  always  thoroughly  prepared  to  teach  the  lesson. 
He  had  no  talent  for  singing,  yet  he  managed  to  start  a  hymn 
for  his  pupils.  He  interested  others  in  the  work.61  When  his 


60.  See  Sketch  of  Wm.   Henry  Ruffner  by  Anne  H.  R.   Barclay  in 
West   Virginia   Historical   Magazine,   Vol.   2,   No.   4. 

61.  Autobiography  of  W.   S.  White,   p.   143. 


84  REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

second  wife,  Airs.  Mary  Anna  Morrison  Jackson,  expressed  a 
desire  to  teach  in  the  white  school  Jackson  urged  her  to  lend  a 
strong  hand  in  uplifting  the  Negro  instead,  and  later  she  was 
happy  that  she  did  as  he  wished.62  Even  under  the  terrific  strain 
incident  to  commanding  duties  in  the  War  of  Secession,  he  never 
forgot  his  Bible  school  at  home,08  and  even  took  pains  immedi 
ately  after  the  battle  of  First  Manassas  to  send  to  Rev.  Mr.  White 
a  letter  containing  his  contribution  for  the  Negro  Sunday-School. 
His  letter  is  memorable:  "My  dear  pastor,  in  my  tent  last  night, 
after  a  fatiguing  day's  service,  I  remembered  that  I  had  failed 
to  send  you  my  contribution  for  our  colored  Sunday-School. 
Enclosed  you  will  find  my  check  for  that  object,  which  please 
acknowledge  at  your  earliest  convenience,  and  oblige  yours 
faithfully. 

'T.  J.  JACKSON."  °4 

It  is  also  worthy  of  remark  that  this  school  was  successful  in  a 
town  where  the  Negroes  were  flocking  to  the  Baptists  and  Meth 
odists  and  where  a  young  minister  admirably  fitted  for  the  work 
and  especially  employed  by  the  Presbyterian  church  to  carry  on 
work  for  Negroes  found  it  impossible  to  secure  visible  signs  of 
success.  After  the  war  this  Sunday-School  work  was  carried  on 
by  Col.  J.  T.  L.  Preston  of  Virginia  Military  Institute,  Prof.  J.  J. 
White  of  Washington  and  Lee  University  and  many  of  the  best 
people  of  Lexington.05  Dr.  R.  F.  Campbdl,  now  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Asheville,  N.  C.,  was  superintendent 
in  a  Sun(fay-School  for  Negroes,  organized  by  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
\Vm.  Henry  Ruffner,  in  a  settlement  near  Lexington.  That  the 
Negroes  were  not  ungrateful  for  the  consideration  shown  them 
by  "Stonewall"  Jackson  is  eloquently  proclaimed  by  a  beautiful 


62.  Life  of  General  Thomas  J.  Jackson,  by  Mrs.  Mary  Anna  Jack 
son   (his  wife),  pp.  77,  78. 

63.  Sunday-School  Times,   Dec.   3,   1887.   Article   by   Mrs.    Margaret 
Preston. 

64.  Life  of  General  Thomas  J.  Jackson  by  Mrs.   Mary  Anna  Jack 
son,  pp.   ,181,   182. 

65.  See    Stonewall   Jackson — A    Military    Biography,    Reminiscences 
by  J.  Wm.  Jones,  D.   D.  pp.  500,  501,  also  William   S.   White,   D.   D. 
and  His  Times.     An  Autobiography,  Edited  by  his  Son,  H.  M.  White, 
p.   158. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OP   THE    NEGRO  85 

memorial  window  placed  in  recent  years  in  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Presbyterian  Church  (Colored),  Roanoke,  Va.  The  design  is 
based  on  the  immortal  dying  words  of  the  gallant  general  and 
Christian  gentleman :  "Let  us  cross  over  the  river  and  rest  in 
the  shade  of  the  trees."  The  cost  of  this  window  was  met  by 
Rev.  L.  L.  Downing,  the  Negro  pastor,  and  his  session.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  not  one  of  the  least  claims  of  this  remark 
able  Virginian  to  immortality  was  the  consecrated  devotedness 
which  he  exhibited  in  caring  for  the  religious  development  of 
the  Negro  race.  Nor  was  he  alone  in  this  work.  Besides  several 
already  mentioned  there  were  other  distinguished  Virginians  who 
strove  equally  hard  for  the  Negro's  uplift :  Prof.  John  B.  Minor, 
the  renowned  law  professor  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  Dr. 
Win.  H.  McGuffey  of  the  Chair  of  Moral  Philosophy,  Dr.  Fran 
cis  Smith,  now  emeritus  professor  of  Physics  at  the  University 
of  Virginia,  Miss  Jennie  Nelson,  of  Hanover  County,  who  taught 
the  little  Negroes  in  the  sand  when  paper  was  not  available, 
Rev.  W.  S.  White,  formerly  of  Lexington,  Va.,  and  many,  many, 
others,  devoted  much  time  and  energy  to  this  form  of  Christian 
activity.  If  any  work  ever  gave  an  adequate  return  in  pleasure 
to  the  persons  who  invested  their  time  in  it,  this  form  would 
rank  easily  among  the  first,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  unimpeach 
able  testimonies  of  these  and  other  valiant  spirits  who  labored 
for  the  moral  and  religious  uplift  of  the  Negro.  The  attitude 
of  the  South,  and  especially  of  South  Carolina  and  Virginia,  can 
be  seen  from  their  reports  at  the  great  conference  which  met  in 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  May  13-15,  1845,  to  plan  for  the  religious  in 
struction  of  Negroes.  The  President  of  this  body  was  the  ven 
erable  Daniel  Elliott  Huger,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Calhoun  in  the 
U.  S.  Senate.  Reports  from  the  Episcopalian,  Methodist,  Bap 
tist  and  Presbyterian  churches  showed  great  progress  in  evan 
gelizing  Negroes  in  Virginia.  The  Convention's  program  is  well 
shown  in  a  section  of  a  committee  report  which  states :  "Indeed 
we  look  upon  the  religious  instruction  of  the  Negroes  AS  THE 
GREAT  DUTY,  and  in  the  truest  and  best  sense,  THE  FIXED,  THE 
SETTLED  POLICY  OF  THE  souTH/'66  There  can  be  no  doubt  after 


66.  Princeton   Review,  Oct.,   1845. 


86  REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

an  examination  of  subsequent  events  that  this  policy  was  vigor 
ously  prosecuted. 

We  have  mentioned  the  excellent  quality  of  many  of  the  free 
Negroes  in  the  early  part  of  the  century  and  in  the  two  previous 
centuries.  This  excellent  standard  failed  to  be  maintained  near 
the  midway  mark  of  the  Nineteenth  Centurv  or  our  people 
looked  on  them  with  harsher  eyes.  Perhaps  both  suggestions  are 
reasons  for  the  unpopularity  of  free  Negroes.  Governor  Wm. 
Smith  in  an  executive  message  dated  Dec.  7,  1846,67  calls  at 
tention  to  the  facts  that  although  the  free  Negroes  and  mulat- 
toes  constituted  only  about  one-sixteenth  of  the  population  of 
Virginia  (excluding  foreigners),  yet  this  small  percentage  con 
tributed  largely  over  two-fifths  of  the  penitentiary  convicts ;  al 
though  the  free  Negroes  constitute  only  about  one-tenth  of  the 
Negro  race  in  Virginia,  yet  they  perpetrated  about  six-sevenths 
of  the  crimes  committed  by  Negroes.  These  statistics  he  thinks 
demonstrate  the  "moral  degradation  of 'the  free  Negro,  the  hope 
lessness  of  his  reform,  mischievous  influence  of  his  association, 
and  the  necessity  of  his  removail.  That  he  is  a  moral  leper,  is 
demonstrated."  The  governor  believed  that  the  free  Negro  was 
a  ready  ally  for  the  Abolitionists  and  to  remedy  the  evil,  he  pro 
posed  that  there  be  a  county  option  election  to  ascertain  whether 
the  county  was  willing  for  free  Negroes  to  remain  in  it  or  not. 
So  earnest  was  the  governor  in  his  desire  to  see  the  free  Ne 
groes  deported,  that  he  used  language  in  exhibiting  their  pitiful 
condition  which  might  well  have  been  ascribed  to  the  most  fanat 
ical  of  ardent  Abolitionists.  In  his  executive  message  of  1848, 
he  said :  "I  ask  how  it  is  possible,  that  he  can  be  other  than  he 
is,  under  the  laws  to  which  we  subject  him.68  Born  in  a  hovel 
the  companions  of  slaves,  and  the  tool  of  the  vicious  white  man, 
he  naturally  sympathizes  with  the  degradation  around  him.  By 
law,  he  is  forbid  to  intermarry  with  the  whites,  to  bear  testi- 


67.  House  Journal  1846-47,  p.  10. 

68.  In  all  likelihood  he  referred  especially  to  the  act  of  1847-48,  § 
39,  p.  12,  which  was  practically  a  re-enactment  of  former  acts  which 

forbade  the  assemblage  of  Negroes,  mulattoes  and  free  Negroes,  for 
religious  worship  under  the  leadership  of  Negroes,  mulattoes  and 
free  Negroes  and  also  forbade  them  assembling  for  the  purpose  of 
instruction  in  reading  and  writing. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  87 

mony  against  them,  to  learn  to  read  and  write,  to  preach  the 
word  of  God  to  his  fellows,  to  bear  arms,  and  to  resent  insults 
from  the  white  man.  Many  other  laws  of  the  same  character 
are  on  our  statute  book;  and  in  every  relation  from  the  cradle 
to  the  grave,  he  is  never  allowed  to  forget  that  he  is  an  inferior 
race.  By  the  providence  of  God,  such  is  his  destiny ;  and  accord 
ing  to  naturalists,  history,  and  the  experience  of  all  mankind, 
he  is  regarded  as  the  third,  or  an  inferior  species  of  the  race  of 
man.  But  not  content  with  this,  by  all  the  acts  of  legislation  we 
force  him  below  that  position  in  the  scale  of  humanity  to  which 
he  is  entitled.  And  is  this  state  of  things  to  continue  forever?"  69 
The  governor  followed  this  array  of  facts  with  a  further  argu 
ment  for  deportation.  These  conditions  are  here  presented  to 
demonstrate  that  in  spite  of  many  Christian  charities  performed 
for  the  Negro,  still  there  was  a  woeful  neglect.  This  neglect  was 
recognized  by  many.  Virginia  did  much,  but  she  left  much  un 
done.  Humanly  speaking,  every  state  and  every  society  will  al 
ways  be  subject  to  the  same  criticism.  Perfect  care  for  every 
person  is  still  unrealized — except  in  Utopia. 

Travellers  in  Virginia,  however,  did  not  note  so  much  of  the 
neglect  of  Negroes  as  they  noted  that  Negroes  were  not  granted 
social  equality.  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  F.  R.  S.,  in  a  trip  through 
parts  of  America  attended  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church  at  Rich 
mond,  Va.,  on  Sunday,  the  21st  of  December,  1845.  On  that 
day  the  rector  announced  that  one  of  the  side  galleries  would 
be  set  apart  exclusively  for  the  use  of  Negroes.  This  step  was 
taken  that  the  masters  and  servants  should  unite  in  worship. 
Sir  Charles  was  not  acquainted  with  our  social  life  and  he  won 
dered  why  the  slaves  would  not  be  raised  to  a  better  equality  if 
they  had  been  allowed  to  use  the  same  galleries  as  the  whites. 
It  was  then  explained  to  him  that  because  of  the  deference  shown 
the  whites  by  the  blacks  such  a  scheme  as  he  proposed  would  be 
harmful  to  the  Negroes  in  occupying  good  seats.  He  further 
notes  the  Sunday-schools  for  Negroes.70  Thackeray  wrote  from 
Richmond  in  1853 :  "The  negroes  don't  shock  me,  or  excite  my 


69.  Journal   of  the   House   of  Delegates,   Dec.   4,   1884,   p.   21. 

70.  Lyell's  Travels  in  the  United  States — Second  Visit,   Vol.   I,  p. 
203,  Sir  Charles   Lyell. 


88  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

compassionate  feelings  at  all;  they  are  so  grotesque  and  happy 
that  I  can't  cry  over  them.  The  little  black  imps  are  trotting  and 
grinning  about  the  streets ;  women,  workmen,  waiters,  all  well- 
fed  and  happy."71 

Frederick  Law  Olmsted  travelled  through  the  South  and  tar 
ried  a  while  during  1853  in  Virginia.  He  does  not  consider  the 
moral  and  religious  condition  of  the  slaves  gratifying,  and  ob 
jects  that,  "they  are  forbidden  by  law  to  meet  together  for  wor 
ship,  or  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  improvement."  72  And  just 
such  a  sentence  as  that  if  given  no  further  qualification  is  the 
cause  of  many  Negroes  believing  to  this  day  that  nothing  was 
done  for  their  religious  uplift  during  slavery.  We  have  met 
young,  supposedly  educated  Negroes,  who  thought  that  all  their 
religious  life  as  a  race  had  been  lived  since  1865.  It  is  a  painful 
state  of  affairs.  As  much  of  Olmsted's  statement  as  is  quoted 
above  fails  to  note  the  always  stipulated  privilege  of  servants 
going  to  church  with  their  masters  or  with  parts  of  their  mas 
ters'  families.  It  would  have  been  unjust  to  this  State  to  have 
left  such  a  bald  statement  to  be  quoted  by  those  who  might  read 
ily  have  been  susceptible  to  the  principle  stated  by  Julius  Caesar: 
"Men  as  a  rule,  gladly  believe  that  which  they  wish."  Olmsted's 
statement  is  qualified,  however,  in  the  next  sentences  with  these 
words :  "In  the  cities,  there  are  churches  especially  for  them, 
in  which  the  exercises  are  conducted  by  white  clergymen.  In 
the  country,  there  is  usually  a  service  after  that  for  the  whites 
especially  in  all  the  churches,  which,  by  the  way  are  not  very 
thickly  scattered."  Of  course,  after  the  qualification  is  stated 
the  first  sentence  loses  much,  if  not  all,  of  its  virulent  force,  so 
far  as  it  affects  the  religious  life  of  the  Negro,  but  sad  to  relate 
the  first  statement  has  been  instilled  into  the  minds  of  many 
without  any  reference  to  the  succeeding  qualifying  statements 
that  were  made.  In  this  same  volume  of  travels  a  slaveholder 
tells  Olmsted  that  in  the  matter  of  educational  advantages  the 
Negroes  have  religious  instruction  by  means  of  persons  reading 


71.  Thackeray's  Letters,  p.  168.     Quoted  in  History  of  United  States 
1850-1877.     James  Ford  Rhodes,  p.  374. 

72.  A  Journey  in  the  Seaboard  Slave  States,  by  Frederick  Law  Olm 
sted,  p.  113. 


REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  89 

the  Bible  to  them  and  by  means  of  preaching  services  held  for 
them.  Even  though  it  was  against  the  law  for  Negroes  to  meet 
unless  a  white  man  was  present  this  law  was  not  observed  al 
ways  everywhere.  Overseers  would  look  in  on  a  service  and 
then  pass  on.73  When  Olmsted  asked  an  old  Negro  preacher 
how  he  would  like  to  live  in  New  York,  the  darkey  answered, 
"Oh,  dey  ain't  no  place  in  de  world  like  Old  Virginny  for  niggers, 
massa'," — and  so  say  they  all  to  this  day.74 

Francis  and  Theresa  Pulszky  after  a  visit  to  America  epito 
mized  the  religious  status  of  efforts  to  Christianize  the  slaves  in 
these  words :  "The  Gospel  is  preached  to  them ;  they  have  mor 
ally  improved;  the  planters  have  never  thrown  any  difficulty  in 
the  way  of  missionaries  who  instruct  them  in  Christianity,  ex 
cept  where  they  suspected  them  to  be  abolitionists ;  on  the  con 
trary,  they  pay  the  clergymen  for  visiting  the  plantations :  they 
like  to  have  pious  slaves,  because  they  are  more  patient  and  more 
laborious  than  the  unconverted  ones.  They  object  sometimes 
to  their  being  taught  to  read  and  write,  that  they  may  not  be 
exposed  to  the  inflammatory  publications  of  the  abolitionists; 
but  the  planters  regularly  give  every  assistance  to  the  labors  of 
the  missionaries,  who,  of  course,  dwell  most  earnestly  on  the 
Christian  obligation  of  the  slaves  to  be  subservient  to  their  mas 
ters."  75  These  writers  also  mention  the  pride  which  the  plant 
ers  feel  in  the  unparalleled  uplift70  of  a  race  in  so  few  years. 
Benson  J.  Lossing  tells  of  the  faithfulness  of  some  of  George 
Washington's  slaves  and  notes  that  he  saw  one  of  Washington's 
women  slaves  in  later  years  at  family  worship  at  Arlington.77 
Thus  when  travellers  noted  the  religious  care  of  the  Negro — and 
they  did  not  always  record  such  things — even  when  they  saw 


73.  Olmsted,   pp.   106,    107. 

74.  Negro   Organization   Society   Meeting   in    Richmond,   Va.,    Nov. 
7th,  1913.     Addressed  by   Gov.  Wm.  Hodges   Mann,  Dr.   H.   B.   Fris- 
sell,  Dr.*  Booker  T.  Washington  and  Major  R.  R.  Morton,  and  others. 

75.  White,  Red,  Black— Sketches  of  American  Society  in  the  United 
States    during    the   visit    of   their    Guests.      By    Francis    and    Theresa 
Pulszky.   Vol.   II,  p.   56. 

76.  Ibid.,  p.  56. 

77.  The  Home  of  Washington  and  its  Association.     Benson  J.  Los- 
sing,  p.  339. 


90  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

them — during  this  century,  they  were  compelled  to  see  that  the 
Virginia  masters  were  interested  in  the  well-being  of  the  Negro, 
and  it  was  frequently  demonstrated  that  intense  activities  were 
being  maintained  by  missionaries  in  their  behalf.  In  Norfolk 
there  were  four  houses  of  divine  worship  for  Negroes  before 
1860 — three  Baptist  and  one  Methodist  Episcopal,  South.78  The 
First  Baptist  was  on  North  side  of  Bute  Street  near  Cumber 
land;  the  Second  Baptist  was  on  Northwest  corner  of  Catharine 
and  Charlotte  Streets ;  the  Third  Baptist  was  on  the  West  side  of 
Hawk  near  Bute  Street;  the  M.  E.  South  was  on  South  side  of 
Bute  opposite  Union  near  Church  Street.  In  Richmond  there 
were  two  Baptist  churches  for  Negroes — the  First  and  Second — 
shown  in  directories  up  to  1856,  and  in  the  book  of  that  year  a 
Methodist  church  appears.  By  1858-9  another  Baptist  church 
was  in  existence.79  The  work  done  in  these  churches  under  white 
leadership  was  comparable  from  the  Negroes'  standpoint  to  time 
spent  in  a  training  school ;  and  this  training  served  them  in  good 
stead  during  the  half  century  of  independent  church  life  since 
1865. 

That  the  Negro  should  have  been  subject  to  severe  criticism 
was  inevitable.  He  was  an  alien  of  a  different  race  and  color; 
far  from  home;  he  had  little  or  no  social  caste — in  short,  a 
social  pariah ;  his  morals  were  immatured  or  loose ;  his  ambi 
tions  were  frequently  stifled,  and  his  home  life  too  often  unde 
veloped  ;  his  religion  was  hedged  about  by  superstitions  and  his 
reactions  in  the  presence  of  religious  stimuli  were  exceedingly 
emotional.  All  in  all,  his  sins  of  omission  and  commission  were 
frequently  facilitated  by  the  mischievous  of  both  races.  Some 
believed  that  moral  principle  was  almost  entirely  absent  from 
among  them ;  80  others  declared  somewhat  indiscriminately  that 
"they  lie,  steal,  blaspheme;  are  slothful,  envious,  malicious,  in 
ventors  of  evil  things,  deceivers,  covenant  breakers,  implacable, 


78.  Norfolk    Directory    1851-2;    Vickery's    Norfolk    Directory,    1859. 
Also  Forrest,  Historical  and  Descriptive  Sketches  of  Norfolk  &  Vi 
cinity  pp.  326,  344. 

79.  Richmond    Directories    1850,   p.   45;    1852,   p.    155;    1855,   pp.    186, 
187;   1856,   pp.   254-256;    1858-9,   pp.   38,   39,   1860,   pp.   44,   45. 

80.  C.  W.  W.  Gooch,  Esq.,  of  Henrico  County,  in  a  prize  essay  on 
"Agriculture  in  Virginia."     See  Harrison  &  Barnes,  p.  103. 


REXIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE;  NEGRO  91 

unmerciful,    greatly   wanting  in    natural    affection,    improvident, 
without  understanding  and  grossly  immoral."  81     It  was  pointed 
out  that  marriages  often  availed  little,  the  Sabbath  day  was  fre 
quently  spent  in  unholy  ways,  Negro  church  members  frequently 
had  to  be  disciplined  for  lapses  and  many  of  them  appeared  with 
out  hope  in  this  world  or  the  next.     Masters  sometimes  objected 
that  they  saw  little  use  in  training  their  slaves  religiously  since 
it  was  expensive  to  hire  teachers,  introduced  men  and  principles 
that  were  liable  to  cause  trouble,  took  up  too  much  of  the  slaves' 
time,  and,  at  last,  did  little  or  no  good,  since  the  Negroes  would 
be  hypocrites  or  worse  men  after  conversion,  and  further  that 
baptism  really  meant  little  more  than  the  difference  between  a 
Negro  wet  and  a  Negro  dry.     These  certainly  represent  the  ob 
jections  of  only  the  worse  masters,  yet  these  objections  must  be 
mentioned  to  avoid  suppressing  part  of  the  truth.     Such  opposi 
tion,  however,  did  not  avail  to  stop  the  good  work  in  behalf  of 
the  blacks.     If  Negroes  were  not  constant  in  their  high  profes 
sions,  it  did  not  necessarily  follow  that  they  were  not  sincere 
when  they  made  such  professions.     Going  to  church,  preaching, 
praying,  singing,  exhorting,  relating  experiences,  performing  bap 
tismal  rites,  attending  burials,  etc.,  etc.,  had  strong  places  in  their 
affections  and  manifestly  aided  in  the  Christian  growth  of  some 
of  the  faithful.     For  some  such  occasions  meant  little.     Many  of 
those,  however,  who  partook  of  the  religious  offerings  of  the 
times  before  the  war  were  far  better  fitted  for  the  duties  of  life 
than  some  of  those  who  in  a  later  day  surfeited  on  religion  and 
were  found  to  be  unfit.    Indeed,  so  strong  has  the  emphasis  been 
laid  on  the  sterling  characters  of  many  good  slaves  and  so  fond 
are  our  fore-parents  of  recounting  the  virtues  encouraged  under 
the  old  system  that  the  superiority  of  the  religious  life  of  the 
Negro  during  slavery  is  considered  so  obvious  as  to  need  no  sup 
port  by  facts.    Those  most  wonderful  exhibitions  of  fidelity,  and 
Christian  character  on  the  part  of  the  slaves  during  the  War  of 
Secession  proved  beyond  doubt  that  the  religious  training  of  their 
past  had  not  been  wasted.82     Good   food,  good  treatment,   re- 


81.  C.  C.  Jones,  ''The  Religious  Instruction  of  Negroes." 

82.  The  American  Negro,  Wm.  Hannibal  Thomas,  p.  41:     "But  the 
supreme    and   all   pervading    influence   which     restrained    them     was 
rooted  in  their  religious  convictions." 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

sponsibilities,  etc.,  all  aided  in  preserving  the  homes  of  Virginia 
inviolate  against  the  sable  hosts  living  in  the  presence  of  our 
defenceless  women  and  children.  It  is  conceded,  however,  that 
perhaps  the  most  important  factor  of  all  in  bringing  about  that 
laudable  end  was  their  training  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ. 

Nor  did  interest  in  the  Negroes'  religious  welfare  cease  while 
the  battles  raged.  It  is  true  that  most  good  Virginians  went  to 
the  front,  but  the  natural  care-takers  of  the  religious  education 
of  Negroes — the  women — were  left  at  home,  and  their  sorrows 
in  the  death  of  loved  ones  and  their  prayers  to  God  for  suc 
cess,  seemed  to  spur  them  on  to  unusual  zeal  in  breaking  the 
"Bread  of  Life"  to  the  hungering  souls  held  as  slaves.  "We  are 
very  much  occupied  by  our  Sunday-schools, — white  in  the  morn 
ing  and  coloured  in  the  afternoon"  83  is  the  record  that  one  per 
son  leaves  and  such  records  are  even  yet  frequently  attested  by 
word  of  mouth.  Besides  the  work  done  by  Virginians  to  aid  in 
the  religious  development  of  Negroes,  the  work  done  by  North 
ern  missionaries  must  not  be  forgotten  or  underestimated.  As 
early  as  August,  1861,  the  American  Missionary  Association 
sent  Rev.  C.  L.  Lockwood  to  Virginia  to  work  among  the  "con 
trabands."  By  October  of  the  same  year  organized  work  had 
begun.  The  Assistant  Secretary  of  War,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Generals 
Butler  and  Wool  promised  the  missionaries  hearty  co-operation. 
The  work  of  organizing  Sunday-schools,  and  church  societies, 
and  the  work  of  inculcating  habits  of  industry  and  thrift  went 
hand  in  hand.  The  Negroes  were  in  need  of  books  and  cloth 
ing,  but  they  did  not  long  remain  in  need  of  an  excellent  Sunday- 
school  meeting  place  since  they  used  the  mansion  of  Ex-Presi 
dent  John  Tyler  situated  at  Hampton.84  "The  Villa  Margu 
erite,"  as  this  beautiful  home  was  named,  by  Mrs.  Julia  Gardiner 
Tyler,  no  longer  heard  the  serenades  of  the  band  from  Fort 
Monroe  in  honor  of  an  Ex-President  of  the  United  States,  but 
was  converted  into  a  religious  training  school  for  contrabands 
of  war.85  In  1864  an  extract  from  the  Corresponding  Secre- 


83.  Diary    of   a    Southern    Refugee,    during   the    War.      By   a    Lady 
of  Virginia   (Mrs.  Judith  W.   McGuire),   Jan.   19th,   1863. 

84.  Hampton  and  its  Students  by  Miss  M.  T.  Armstrong,  pp.  14-16. 

85.  This   fact   vouched    for   by   personal   letters    from    Dr.    Lyon    G. 
Tyler,    President    of   William    and    Mary    College,    and   a    son   of    Ex- 


REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  93 

tary's  report  of  "The  Friends  Association  for  the  Aid  and  Ele 
vation  of  the  Freedmen"  shows  that  the  Negroes  near  Fort  Mon 
roe  had  built  a  plank  church  and  they  considered  it  so  sacred 
that  it  seemed  that  they  almost  worshipped  the  building.  It 
further  stated :  "Their  religion  is  one  of  faith,  and  yet  one  of 
strong  excitement  and  feeling.  They  do  not  think  they  have  had 
a  good  time  unless  they  can  make  a  noise.  .  .  .  Their  pray- 
ers  are  repetitions  and  much  the  same,  and  yet  put  up  in  much 
earnestness,  and  as  we  believe,  have  called  down  the  blessings 
of  God."  86  Besides  the  American  Missionary  Association  and 
the  Friends  Association  the  other  churches  of  the  North  showed 
an  active  interest  in  this  work.  In  1862  the  Executive  Board  of 
the  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  had  voted  to  enter 
the  Southern  fields  "as  the  providence  of  God  might  open  to 
them."  Advances  were  made  during  1863  and  1864.87 

Virginians  were  very  proud  of  their  Negroes  and  well  they 
might  have  been.  Virginia  Negroes  were  the  picked  of  the 
picked.  In  the  first  instance,  away  back  in  Africa  only  the  able 
ones  survived  the  wars  or  marauding  expeditions  in  which  they 
were  captured  in  their  African  homes,  and  after  which  they  were 
marched  as  captives  to  the  sea-coast,  to  be  sold  to  slave  deal 
ers.88  The  African  slave  sellers  had  made  the  march  to  the 
sea  at  a  rapid  pace  and  this  constituted  a  severe  test  in  itself, 
since  the  captives  had  been  given  little  food  on  the  march ;  of 
course,  those  the  conquerors  did  not  attempt  to  bring  to  the 
coast  had  been  murdered  on  the  spot.  The  slave  dealers  then 
subjected  the  captives  to  a  minute  examination  and  if  defects 
were  found  the  unfortunate  rejected  came  to  a  terrible  end.  If 
accepted,  the  captives  were  then  offered  to  ship  captains  en 
gaged  in  supplying  the  American  slave  markets.  The  white 
slave  traders  in  turn,,  would  be  particular  that  only  good  ones 


President  John  Tyler.     "The  Villa  Marguerite"  is  now  the  Dixie  Hos 
pital  in  which  colored  girls  are  in  training  to  become  nurses. 

86.  See   "Quaker   Pamphlets"   in   Park  Avenue    Meeting   House    Li 
brary — Report  of  Susan  H.  Clark,  a  teacher  at  Mill  creek,  near  For 
tress  Monroe,  Va.   Fifth  Month,   llth;   1864. 

87.  Hist,  of  the  Richmond  Theological  Seminary,  C.  H.   Corey,  pp. 
52,  53. 

88.  See  Tillinghast,  The  Negro  in  Africa  and  America,  pp.  106-112. 


94  REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

were  bought,  since  weak  ones  would  hardly  Ve  able  to  undergo 
the  horrors  of  the  ''middle  passage"  and  if  they  did  survive  in 
a  weakened  state  no  buyers  could  be  found  in  America.  Thoughts 
of  the  "middle  passage''  with  its  pollutions,  arise  as  a  stench  in 
their  nostrils  to  this  day  and  lucky  indeed  were  the  Negroes  who 
happened  to  put  feet  on  the  soil  of  Virginia  after  that  gruesome 
ordeal.  The  slave  owners  in  America  next  subjected  them  to 
a  rigid  test  and  by  this  time  it  was  well  assured  that  the  slaves 
were  hearty  specimens  physically.  Of  course,  none  of  these 
tests  dealt  with  their  intellects  or  morals ;  these  were  dealt  with 
by  the  inland  slave  trade.  If  a  Negro  on  a  Virginia  plantation 
proved  unmanageable,  liable  to  cause  further  trouble,  or  even 
especially  vicious,  there  was  one  road  he  must  travel — South. 
To  be  sold  South  was  a  prospect  which  was  exceedingly  hateful 
to  Virginia  Negroes,  and  to  many  death  would  have  been  almost 
preferable.  A  check  on  their  evil  deeds  thus  existed  in  the  form 
of  an  understanding  that  wrongdoing  meant  their  sale  to  cotton 
and  rice  growers  in  the  far  South.  Virginia  Negroes  were  fur 
ther  selected  by  an  efficiency  process.  The  house  Negroes,  in 
opposition  to  those  in  the  quarters,  were  further  selected,  be 
cause  of  intelligence,  neatness,  docility,  etc.,  and  from  the  house 
Negroes  all  agree  that  we  get  the  noblest  specimens  of  Negro 
manhood  and  womanhood  which  came  through  slavery  times. 
The  Negroes  were  always  imitative  and  the  house  Negroes  of 
Virginia  were  thrown  into  as  choice  an  environment  as  could 
be  found  anywhere.  That  they  were  "quality"  Negroes  after 
this  series  of  selective  processes  needs  no  further  elaboration. 

Among  the  distinguished  Negroes  who  did  religious  work 
worthy  of  any  time  in  the  world's  history,  while  living  in  ante 
bellum  days,  we  have  chosen  several  for  particular  mention  at 
this  time.  George  Lisle  was  a  Virginia  Negro,  born  about  1750, 
and  served  as  a  body  servant  to  a  British  officer.  He  preached 
as  he  moved  about  the  country  and  a  man  that  he  baptized,  Rev. 
Andrew  Bryan,  organized  one  of  the  first  Negro  churches  in 
America,  a  church  in  Savannah,  Ga.,  about  1788.  In  the  island 
of  Jamaica,  Lisle  did  notable  work  in  directing  missionary  ef 
forts  toward  that  island  and  was  himself  the  pastor  of  a  church 
consisting  of  nearly  4,000  members.89 


89.  The  Negro  Church,  pp.  33,  34. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  95 

Lott  Carey  was  also  a  Virginia  Negro,  born  a  slave  in  Charles 
City  County.  He  was  born  about  1780  and  moved  to  Richmond 
about  1804  and  there  worked  in  a  tobacco  factory.  His  life  was 
very  wicked  until  he  joined  the  First  Baptist  Church.  This 
event  occurred  about  1807.  The  church  encouraged  him  to  be 
a  minister  at  a  later  date.  Lott  learned  to  read,  studied  hard, 
acquired  much  knowledge  from  a  wide  range  of  reading  and  was 
licensed  to  preached.  He  decided  to  become  a  missionary  to 
Africa,  announced  his  intention  at  a  night  school,  afterward  re 
fused  a  $200  raise  in  salary  which  would  have  made  him  the 
recipient  of  $1,000  per  year  provided  he  remained  with  his  em 
ployer.  He  preached  in  the  First  Church  before  leaving,  and 
made  a  good  impression.  Collin  Teague,  an  excellent  Negro, 
went  with  him  to  Africa  on  the  ship  "Nautilus"'  which  left  Nor 
folk  for  Africa  on  Jan.  23d.,  1821.  Lott  became  a  government 
official  in  Liberia,  did  a  good  work  in  helping  the  people  in  his 
new  home  and  was  mortally  injured  in  1828  while  casting  car 
tridges  to  defend  his  colonists  against  the  natives.90 

John  Stewart  was  born  of  free  parents  in  Powhatan  County, 
Virginia.  His  parents  were  good  members  of  the  Bap 
tist  Church,  but  John  grew  up  as  a  sinner.  While  going  from 
his  home  to  Marietta,  Ohio,  he  was  robbed  of  all  his  money  and 
"this  circumstance  brought  him  to  reflect  seriously  on  the  state 
of  his  soul."  He  became  a  Methodist  and  preached  among  the 
Wyandott  Indians  as  early  as  1816,  near  Upper  Sandusky,  Ohio. 
His  work  was  very  influential  and  much  appreciated.91 

Although  John  Chavis  was  a  North  Carolina  Negro  by  birth 
he  spent  part  of  his  life  in  Virginia  at  Lexington.  By  a  court 
record  of  1802  it  is  shown  that  he  had  been  a  regular  student  in 
Washington  Academy,  now  Washington  and  Lee  University. 
At  Princeton  he  studied  privately  under  Dr.  W'itherspoon.  Cha 
vis  became  a  licentiate  in  the  Presbyterian  church  and  preached. 
His  school  in  which  he  taught  both  whites  and  blacks  was  justly 
famous  for  his  scholarship  and  his  pupils'  fame  in  later  years.92 


90.  Lives  of  Virginia  Baptist  Ministers — James  B.  Taylor,  pp.  396- 
444. 

91.  Missionary    Pioneer — Memoir   of  John    Stewart.      Published   by 
Joseph   Mitchell. 

92.  The   Negro  Church,  p.  35:   Ballagh,  History  of  Slavery  in  Vir 
ginia,  p.  110. 


96  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

The  case  of  Chavis  was  reversed  in  Henry  Evans.  Evans  was 
a  Virginia  free  Negro  but  his  distinguishing  work  was  done  in 
North  Carolina.  About  the  year  1800  Evans  began  to  preach  to 
the  blacks  at  Fayetteville  and  in  spite  of  persecutions  he  con 
tinued  his  good  work.  His  good  life  and  able  messages  won  to 
his  side  the  white  people  and  eventually  his  work  became  the 
basis  of  a  Methodist  Church  of  mixed  membership.  Bishop 
Capers  said  of  him,  he  "was  undoubtedly  the  best  preacher  of 
his  time  in  that  quarter  and  was  so  remarkable  as  to  have  be 
come  the  greatest  curiosity  of  the  town  insomuch  that  distin 
guished  visitors  hardly  felt  that  they  might  pass  a  Sunday  in 
Fayetteville  without  hearing  him  preach.98  His  own  words  in 
the  presence  of  death  uttered  as  he  stood  tottering  by  his  pulpit 
are  eminently  worthy  of  being  preserved :  "I  have  come  to  say 
my  last  word  to  you.  It  is  this :  None  but  Christ.  Three  times 
have  I  had  my  life  in  jeopardy  for  preaching  the  gospel  to  you. 
Three  times  have  I  broken  ice  on  the  edge  of  the  water  and 
swam  across  the  Cape  Fear  to  preach  the  gospel  to  you ;  and, 
if  in  my  last  hour  I  could  trust  to  that,  or  anything  but  Christ 
crucified,  for  my  salvation,  all  should  be  lost  and  my  soul  perish 
forever."  Soon  afterwards  this  good  man  died. 

"Uncle  Jack,"  the  African  preacher — perhaps  the  most  inter 
esting  character  developed  before  the  war — was  kidnapped  from 
Africa  at  the  age  of  seven  and  brought  to  America  in  one  of  the 
last  cargoes  of  slaves  sold  into  Virginia.  He  was  bought  by  an 
obscure  citizen  of  Nottoway  County,  Virginia.94  In  those  days 
there  was  little  religion  in  that  section  and  chances  seemed  poor 
for  a  Negro  to  develop  a  strong  Christian  character.  Jack  was 
densely  ignorant  and  perhaps  would  have  remained  so,  had  not 
a  man  stirred  him  by  predicting  that  the  world  would  come  to  an 
end  in  a  few  days.  The  Negro  was  then  about  forty  years  of 
age,  yet  he  set  to  work  to  learn  his  letters  with  his  master's  chil 
dren  as  his  teachers.  As  soon  as  the  key  to  knowledge  was  ob 
tained  he  applied  himself  diligently  to  the  Scriptures  and  soon 
memorized  large  portions  of  the  sacred  writings.  Revs.  John 


93.  McTyeire,    History   of   Methodism;    The    Negro    Church,    p.    36; 
Bassett,    State,    North    Carolina   pp.    58,    59. 

94.  The  African   Preacher— By   Rev.  William   S.   White. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE    NEGRO  97 

Blair  Smith,  William  Hill  and  Archibald  Alexander  were  partly 
responsible  for  his  conversion  and  were  helpful  to  him  in  gain 
ing  further  knowledge  of  Scriptural  exegesis.  "Uncle  Jack"  was 
after  a  time  prepared  for  an  examination  to  enter  the  ministry. 
He  successfully  passed  and  was  ordained  as  a  minister  of  the 
Baptist  church.  His  charge  was  in  the  country  and  he  did  his 
work  well.  His  reputation  was  so  favorable  among  the  whites 
that  when  some  dispute  arose  among  his  owners  concerning 
their  property  in  him  the  neighbors  of  the  old  preacher,  to  get  it 
settled,  paid  for  his  freedom,95  and  set  him  up  in  a  little  house 
and  lot.  Plantations  were  never  closed  to  him  and  masters  and 
overseers  welcomed  him  as  a  friend.  A  Negro  wrongdoer  once 
begged  to  be  punished  by  his  master  rather  than  be  sent  to  "Un 
cle  Jack"  to  be  disciplined.  As  a  Baptist  he  was  broad-minded 
and  even  welcomed  the  Presbyterians  into  the  county.  He  spent 
his  time  learning  and  imparting  knowledge.  His  life  was  a  fear 
less  fight  for  the  truth.  Once  a  Negro  preacher  named  Camp.- 
bell  caused  a  schism  among  Negro  Baptists  by  contending  that 
God  revealed  Himself  to  the  Negroes  through  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  not  through  the  Bible ;  96  also  that  it  was  a  sin  to  eat  pig's 
meat.  The  old  African  preacher  went  to  the  place  where  Camp 
bell  wras  preaching  and  defeated  him  in  open  debate.  "Uncle 
Jack"  used  excellent  English  and  had  a  marvelous  faculty  of 
illustrating  his  point  with  incidents  drawn  from  Nature.  His 
language  was  often  pictorial,  yet  very  pointed.  His  services 
were  widely  required  for  the  funerals  of  slaves.  Sometimes  he 
went  as  far  as  thirty  miles  on  such  a  mission.  It  would  be  im 
possible  to  fail  to  mention  the  sincere  humility  of  Jack.  He  did 
not  dissemble;  he  was  true.  On  one  occasion  he  refused  a  good 
black  suit  because  he  did  not  want  to  dress  better  than  his  fel 
low  Negroes  and  because  he  feared  that  he  would  think  about 
his  fine  clothes  even  in  meeting.  After  the  laws  forbidding  Ne 
groes  to  preach  had  been  passed  he  stopped  and  would  not 


95.  A  similar  case  was  related  to  me  by  Mr.   Frank  Armistead,   a 
lawyer  of  Williamsburg,  Va. 

96.  A  Negro  preacher  living  at  Doswell,  Va.,  recently  told  me  that 
before  the  war  Negroes  in  his  neighborhood  thought  that  white  folks 
had  no  religion  because  they  got  it  from  the  Bible  instead  of  by  di 
rect  revelation,  as  Negroes  thought  they  got  theirs. 

—7 


98  REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

preach  again  even  though  he  was  assured  that  he  would  not 
suffer  from  that  law.  He  thought  his  preaching  "no  better  than 
the  ringing  of  an  old  cow-bell  and  ought  to  be  stopped."  In 
reality,  others  considered  him  the  best  preacher  in  that  section 
of  the  country.  Whites  and  blacks  learned  from  him,  and  he 
was  so  well  thought  of  that  a  regular  place  was  reserved  for 
him  during  family  worship  at  Mountain  Hall,  the  home  of  Dr. 
James  Jones  of  Nottoway.  Dr.  J.  H.  Rice  wrote  of  this  Negro 
preacher  in  the  Virginia  Literary  and  Evangelical  Magazine: 
"Jack  possesses  the  entire  confidence  of  the  who'le  neighborhood 
in  which  he  lives.  No  man  doubts  his  integrity,  or  the  sincerity 
of  his  piety.  All  classes  treat  him  with  marked  respect.  Every 
body  gives  unequivocal  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  his  char 
acter."  He  died  at  a  good  old  age  and  his  death  was  sincerely 
mourned  by  all.  We  have  sketched  the  life  of  this  unusual  man 
at  some  length  in  order  that  we  might  show  some  of  the  possi 
bilities  under  the  old  regime.  It  is  true  that  only  an  exceed 
ingly  small  number  did,  or  ever  will,  surpass  this  noble  character 
because  few  did  or  will  pay  the  price  that  he  paid.  His  life 
of  humility  and  unselfishness  is  monumental  and  stands  as  an  ex 
ample  to  many  in  the  ministry  even  at  the  present  time.  It  is  in 
teresting  to  note  that  "Uncle  Jack"  and  Nat  Turner — both 
preachers — were  contemporaries.  It  is  often  pointed  out  that 
society  drove  Nat  Turner  to  despair  and  caused  him  to  be  a 
ruthless  murderer,  but  it  is  as  frequently  overlooked  that  the 
same  society  which  made  one  man's  name  detestable  among  right 
thinking  people,  made  of  the  other  man,  "Uncle  Jack,"  one  of 
the  noblest  characters  in  Virginia  Negro  history.  His  generous 
white  friends  have  preserved  his  name  as  one  of  the  proudest 
memories  of  Negro  religious  achievement.  It  does  seem  that 
our  literature  would  be  poorer  indeed  without  the  descriptions 
of  such  excellent  characters  as  "African  Bella,"  "Aunt  Betty," 
"Springfield  Bob"  Smith,97  "Mammy  Harriet" os  and  "Aunt 
Jenny."  "  To  many,  these  characters  would  be  passed  as  be- 


97.  Sketches  of  Old  Virginia  Family  Servants,  by  a  Grand-Daugh 
ter  of  General  Nelson,  pp.   25,  54,   61. 

98.  Memorials  of  a  Southern  Planter,   Susan   Dabney  Smedes. 

99.  Virginia:    Past   and   Present.     By   Elizabeth   Lee,   pp.    19,   20. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  99 

neath  their  dignity  to  notice,  yet  their  struggles,  apparently 
insignificant,  were  as  heroic  fights  for  character  as  any  that  we 
meet  at  present.  Christianity  did  much  for  them. 

Other  prominent  Negroes  were  born  in  Virginia  during  the 
period  of  slavery,  such  as  John  Jasper,  James  H.  Holmes,  and 
Booker  T.  Washington,  but  because  their  principal  achievements 
came  in  the  period  after  the  war,  we  shall  reserve  further  men 
tion  of  them  until  later. 

The  progress  which  the  Negro  made  during  the  first  sixty- 
five  years  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  was  without  parallel,  up 
to  that  time,  in  the  world's  history.  Slavery  lessons  were  taught 
in  a  hard  school,  but  they  were  lessons  taught  well.  Half-way 
efficiency  could  scarcely  satisfy  the  Anglo-Saxon.  Money  was 
liberally  expended  that  the  Negro  might  be  provided  with  the 
benefits  of  religion.  That  the  expenditures  of  those  days  were 
not  so  great  as  those  of  the  present  need  not  occasion  surprise. 
That  so  much  time,  energy  and  money  were  expended  does  oc 
casion  some.  The  benefits  of  slavery  were  vastly  more,  we  be 
lieve,  to  the  advantage  of  the  Negro  than  to  the  white  man.1 
Some  writers  at  present  seem  to  assume  that  the  Negro  was  as 
civilized  when  he  was  imported  into  Virginia  during  the  seven 
teenth  century  as  he  was  at  the  end  of  the  War  of  Secession. 
Such  bathos  is  unendurable.  The  more  manly  and  fair-minded 
attitude  is  that  taken  by  Booker  Washington  when  he  said :  "I 
know,  despite  all  the  conflicting  opinions,  and  with  a  full  knowl 
edge  of  all  the  Negroes'  weaknesses,  that  only  a  few  centuries  • 
ago  they  went  into  slavery  in  this  country  pagans,  and  they 
came  out  Christians ;  they  went  into  slavery  so  much  property, 
they  came  out  American  citizens  ;  they  went  into  slavery  without  / 
a  language,  they  came  out  speaking  the  proud  Anglo-Saxon 
tongue;  they  went  into  slavery  with  the  chains  clanking  about 
their  wrists,  they  came  out  with  the  American  ballot  in  their 
hands."  If  the  Negro  had  gained  nothing  in  slavery  except 
knowledge  of  the  English  language,  some  understanding  of  gov 
ernment,  the  habit  of  labor,  and  the  Christian  religion,  his  ex 
perience  would  have  nevertheless  been  invaluable.  That  the  Ne 
gro  has  achieved  so  much  as  a  race  is  a  just  matter  of  pride,  yet 


1.  Meade,  Old  Churches,  Vol.  I,  p.  90  note. 


100  REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   oF   THE    NEGRO 

history  shows  that  the  Negro  has  had  more  done  for  him  vol 
untarily  by  the  Caucasian  race  than  any  other  race  ever  did  for 
another. 

A  host  of  witnesses  testify  to  the  opportunities  for  building 
strong  character  structures  during  slavery  days  and  another 
host  will  testify  that  the  opportunities  were  frequently  grasped. 
All  praise  to  the  many  Virginia  Christians,  both  white  and  black, 
who  cheerfully  though  frequently  through  intense  suffering, 
aided  in  the  great  service  of  endeavoring  to  help  a  race  born  in 
darkness  see  the  light.  Few  Negroes  now  living  have  given  its 
due  to  the  work  done  for  their  religious  development  during 
slavery;  few  whites  have  known  enough  about  Negroes  since 
then,  to  give  them  their  due.  Many  Negroes  remember  the  laws 
prohibiting  preaching  by  Negroes,  or  those  prohibiting  the  Ne 
groes  to  learn  to  read  and  write,  yet  few  indeed  seem  to  re 
member  that  the  white  preachers  and  Bible  teachers  stepped  into 
the  breach  left  by  the  absence  of  black  preachers,  and  fewer  yet 
seem  to  remember  the  circumstances  that  influenced  the  passage 
of  the  reading  and  writing  laws,  or  the  fact  that  such  laws  were 
practically  dead  letters  on  every  plantation  where  the  Negroes 
wished  to  read  and  white  children  were  there  to  teach.  Masters 
neglected  many  things  yet  they  did  try  to  understand  their  duties 
as  masters  and  then  tried  properly  to  perform  them. 

A  most  excellent  summary  of  religious  effort  for  the  Negro 
during  slavery  is  presented  in  a  pamphlet  written  by  Gustave 
J.  Orr,  entitled  "The  Education  of  the  Negro:"  "I  may  say 
then,  that  it  was  the  universal  custom  of  all  the  churches  of  the 
South  to  receive  slaves  into  full  and  regular  membership,  that  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  colored  church  members  was  looked  after 
with  great  solicitude  by  the  official  members  of  the  different 
churches;  that  the  slaves  and  their  masters  worshipped  in  the 
same  houses,  the  only  distinction  being  that  different  portions 
of  these  houses  were  assigned  for  occupancy  to  the  two  races ; 
that,  at  Holy  Communion,  they  partook  of  the  same  elements, 
administered  by  the  same  hands,  at  the  same  time,  but  always  at 
different  tables ;  that  the  ministers  were  universally  expected  to 
visit  and  labor  with  the  slaves  pastorally  administering  to  them 
the  consolations  of  our  holy  religion  in  sickness  and  burying 
them  when  dead ;  that  in  many  places,  special  services,  at  least 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  101 

once  on  the  Sabbath,  were  appointed  for  the  exclusive  benefit 
of  the  slaves;  that  very  generally  Sabbath  schools  were  estab 
lished  for  the  religious  instruction  of  the  slaves  in  which  they 
were  taught  orally  from  catechisms  carefully  prepared  by  the 
ablest  divines  of  the  different  denominations ;  .  .  .  and  lastly 
that  it  was  the  custom  on  many  of  the  plantations  for  cultivated 
Christian  mistresses  to  assemble,  with  their  own  smaller  chil 
dren,  the  younger  servants  of  the  household  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  to  read  to  them  and  expound  the  sacred 
oracles,  and  drill  them  catechetically  for  the  purpose  of  fixing 
in  their  memories  the  precious  truths  therein  inculcated." 

Just  at  the  close  of  the  war  there  were  thousands  of  Negro 
church  members  and  many  of  those  were  so  active  in  religious 
work  as  to  cause  some  modern  Christians  to  blush  when  the 
works  of  the  two  are  exhibited  for  comparison.  Even  though 
the  Negro  was  frequently  poorly  equipped,  he  did  try  to  take 
part  in  his  church  services.  His  efforts  were  crude  and  emo 
tional,  yet  this  is  not  very  different  from  what  the  white  re 
vivals  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  showed.2  Ignorance 
is  never  so  restrained  under  excitement  as  is  culture.  The  Ne 
gro's  wrestle  with  the  Devil  was  very  real ;  his  religion  was  a  ter 
rific  reality,  and  even  if  he  did  dream  dreams  and  see  visions,  we 
need  not  be  too  sure  that  his  religion  was  not  the  kind  best  suited 
for  his  comprehension  at  that  time.  "In  his  simple,  earnest,  affec 
tionate  and  believing  heart,  in  his  ecstasies  of  love  for  'Mas'r 
Jesus/  and  in  his  tenderness  to  whatever  appeals  to  him  in  na 
ture,  are  principles  of  religion  as  saving,  I  venture  to  say,  as  the 
precise  creeds,  and  the  solemn  and  exact  manners  of  the  church 
men.''  3  If  his  religion  seemed  to  have  much  warmth  and  little 
intellect;  ours  seemed  to  have  much  intellect  and  little  warmth. 
It  is  not  at  all  certain  that  either  of  us  has  attained  perfection  in 
a  religion  for  universal  application.  Both  have  valuable  con 
stituents. 

Our  forefathers  lived  in  constant  contact  with  Negroes  and 
they  knew  their  black  friends  and  the  blacks  knew  their  white 


2.  Adams,   A    Southside    View   of   Slavery,   pp.    53,    57,    171;    also    E. 
A.  Pollard,  Black  Diamonds,  pp.  34,  86. 

3.  Pollard,  Black  Diamonds,  p.  87. 


102  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

friends.  The  Negro's  ideals  were  raised  by  living  in  contact 
with  a  people  famed  for  idealism.  Indeed,  the  Negro  witnessed 
the  physical  vanquishment  of  the  South  by  arms ;  he  never  did 
witness  a  Southerner  declare  that  principles  can  be  decided  by 
force:  he  saw  Virginians  overcome  in  combat;  he  did  not  see 
them  forsake  their  trusts.  The  contact  with  men  of  honor  had 
a  positive  influence  over  many  lives  of  Negroes  before  the  war. 
A  change  came.  This  contact  is  almost  entirely  gone  now.  The 
best  white  people  rarely  see  the  best  Negroes.  The  best  Ne 
groes  are  disturbed  by  the  worst  whites.  The  opposite  ends  of 
the  races  meet.  Our  forefathers  had  tremendous  problems  on 
their  hands,  yet  they  measured  up  to  the  full  statute  of  man 
hood  by  standing  for  principles  and  caring  for  the  religious  wel 
fare  of  their  slaves  and  Negro  employees.  They  undertook  this 
task  as  though  they  were  seeking  a  pearl  of  great  price.  The 
pages  which  are  to  follow  will  show  what  their  training  meant 
to  the  Negroes  when  they  became  independent  of  white  guidance 
and  restraint. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  103 


1865-1913. 

If  the  religious  life  of  the  Negro  in  Virginia  be  compared  to 
the  growth  of  wheat,  we  may  say  that  during  the  seventeenth 
century  the  sowing  was  done ;  the  first  part  of  the  eighteenth 
represented  the  period  of  little  growth  during  the  winter ;  from 
the  middle  eighteenth  to  the  end  of  that  century  is  like  unto 
spring  with  its  consequent  new  life ;  the  first  sixty-five  years  of 
the  nineteenth  show  the  wheat  "in  the  boot,"  and  the  latter  part 
of  that  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  show  the 
harvest  of  golden  grain,  some  seed  bearing  thirty,  some  sixty 
and  some  a  hundred  fold.  It  is  gratifying  to  be  living  in  the 
time  of  harvest.  The  care  and  intelligent  oversight  of  the  past 
must  now  secure  their  rewards. 

Slavery  was  not  a  beautiful  dream ;  it  was  a  tremendous  real 
ity.  Even  though  many  benefits  were  derived  by  those  held  in 
bondage,  yet  we  must  ever  be  mindful  that  man  and  beast  are 
restive  under  restraint  and  detest  the  enthralled  condition.  Some 
very  placid  men  and  a  few  very  quiet  animals  seem  to  suffer  less 
inconvenience  than  others  of  more  liberty-loving  dispositions  but 
the  love  of  freedom  is  deep-rooted.  This  desire  for  freedom 
seems  to  come  to  man  with  visions  of  adolescence  and  we  do 
the  greatest  violence  to  nature  when  man's  will  is  held  in  bond 
age.  To  enslave  the  body  is  bad ;  to  enthrall  the  will  is  worse. 
The  Negroes  had  learned  during  slavery  days  of  the  Israelites, 
and  their  Egyptian  bondage,  of  the  Egyptian  task  master's  lash, 
of  the  wanderings  in  the  Wilderness,  and  the  final  deliverance 
of  a  land  into  their  hands,  and  we  can  be  very  sure  that  in  the 
secret  meditations  of  many  slaves  it  was  thought  that  their  own 
condition  was  identical  with  that  of  the  Israelites  of  old. 
Though  many  slaves  were  true  to  their  masters  and  some  mas 
ters  were  true  to  their  slaves  1  even  after  the  arbitrament  of  the 


1.  We  append  an  extract  from  the  diary  of  John  B.  Minor,  dated 
May  8th,  18G5 — less  than  a  month  after  the  surrender  of  Lee  and 
before  the  bruised  bodies  and  spirits  of  Virginians  had  recovered  from 
the  shocks  of  warfare:  "At  a  meeting  of  gentlemen  at  Dr.  Maupin's 
to-night  it  was  a  subject  of  consideration  what  should  be  done  in 


104  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE    NEGRO 

sword  had  made  it  evident  that  human  bondage  was  no  longer 
to  be  tolerated  in  the  United  States,  still  most  Negroes  felt  that 
chey,  like  the  Hebrew  children,  were  released  from  an  Egyptian 
bondage,  and  were  entering  into  the  Promised  Land.  Their 
songs  indicate  it;  their  actions  when  no  sounds  were  heard,  spoke 
louder  than  human  utterance.  Their  new  freedom  was  soon 
tried  out.  One  of  the  most  natural  channels  of  expression  for 
this  new  found  freedom  was  to  indulge  in  religious  meetings, 
as  frequent  and  as  long  extended  as  the  black  worshippers 
pleased.  During  slavery  they  were  limited  in  time  because  the 
masters  wanted  their  best  service  on  the  next  day.  Now,  Ne 
groes,  good,  bad  and  indifferent,  turned  themselves  loose  on  this 
devoted  Commonwealth  as  preachers  or  exhorters,  and  religious 
orgies  were  held,  the  equal  of  which  this  State  had  never  known 
before.  It  was  only  natural  that  such  excesses  should  have  fol 
lowed.  It  is  a  high  tribute  to  the  race  that  they  survived  such 
leadership  and  have  now  developed  a  different  ideal  of  the  min 
istry. 

For  the  first  two  years  after  the  war,  the  status  quo  of  the 
social  position  of  the  Negro  was  suddenly  changed  in  his  own 
eyes  from  that  which  existed  before  and  during  the  war.  Much 
was  heard  of  being  treated  as  a  man  and  brother.2  The  North 
ern  missionaries,  "scalawags,"  "carpet  baggers,"  and  Negro 
preachers  were  largely  responsible  for  this  inflation.  During 
these  years  the  Negro,  under  the  influence  of  the  same  and 
other  misguided  or  false  friends,  became  so  assertive  that  he 
rapidly  lost  caste  in  the  eyes  of  the  best  elements  among  the 
whites.  Nothing  could  have  been  much  more  tragical  in  its 


respect  to  the  Negroes  and  I  found  it  was  the  almost  universal  sen 
timent  to  abandon  them  to  their  fate.  They  were  conscientious  and 
humane  men  who  expressed  this  sentiment,  but  I  cannot  see  how  we 
can  reconcile  it  with  our  duty  thus  to  'whistle  them  down  the  wind 
to  prey  at  fortune,'  as  soon  as  the  prospect  of  profit  or  advantage  to 
ourselves  is  taken  away.  My  present  purpose  is  to  retain  and  sup 
port  and  care  for  mine  as  long  as  they  behave  themselves  and  I  am 
able  to  do  so  and  I  pray  God  to  enable  me  to  fulfil  my  design  to  the 
good  of  the  bodies  and  souls  of  the  poor  hapless  creatures." 

2.  The  following  portion  of  a  verse  from  the  Bible  was  widely 
quoted:  "Have  we  not  all  one  Father?  Hath  not  one  God  created 
us?"  Malachi  2:10. 


REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE    NEGRO  105 

consequences  for  the  Negro,  since  many  of  the  ills  that  his 
black  flesh  is  now  heir  to  have  come  upon  him  as  a  consequent 
of  his  fatal  choice.  The  best  elements  among  the  whites  re 
main  to  this  day;  his  false  friends  departed.  Even  though  the 
farce  of  forcing  a  ballot  into  the  hand  of  the  ignorant  Negro 
nettled  the  white  men  of  Virginia  who  would  not  brook  the  polit 
ical  supremacy  of  their  former  servants,  yet  there  was  always 
something  within  which  made  the  whites  anxious  to  do  good  to 
those  creatures  who  were  rather  "sinned  against  than  sinning." 
Such  men  as  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Hunnicutt  and  John  Hawxhurst, 
both  radicals,  had  absolute  control  of  the  Negro  voters  and 
under  such  leadership  the  political  situation  became  distressing 
to  lovers  of  good  government.  This  proud  State,  Virginia,  then 
witnessed  a  spectacle  which  it  never  saw  before — the  reins  of 
its  government  in  the  hands  of  Negroes.  For  one  dizzy  moment 
"the  bottom  rail  was  on  top"  and  joy  among  the  blacks  was 
unconfmed.  Perhaps  the  fact  that  Reconstruction  never  became 
so  severe  in  Virginia  as  in  other  Southern  States  helped  to  soften 
the  Caucasian  heart.  There  was  also  the  chance  in  every  good 
deed  done  to  aid  the  Negro  religiously,  to  prove  to  the  world 
that  the  care  and  oversight  maintained  before  the  war  were  not 
the  results  of  sheer  self-interest,  but  were  oftenest  performed 
from  the  best  of  motives. 

While  the  smoke  of  battle  was  still  rolling  over  the  hills  of 
Virginia  and  before  the  great  battle  at  Gettysburg  had  been 
fought  or  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  had  proved  successful,  "the 
members  of  St.  John's  Church  (African  M.  E.  South,  at  Nor 
folk,  Va.),  expressed  their  dissatisfaction  with  existing  condi 
tions,  and  the  Official  Board  May  4,  1863,  voted  unanimously  to 
annul  the  discipline  of  the  M.  E.  Church  South."  3  With  the 
aid  of  the  Federal  officer,  George  Dix,  the  church  property  was 
secured  for  the  congregation  of  blacks  and  the  membership 
agreed  to  join  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference  of  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Largely  through  the  agencies  of 
Professor  Woodbury,  superintendent  of  the  government  school 
in  Norfolk,  and  Bishop  Wayman,  the  decision  to  become  mem 
bers  of  the  A.  M.  E.  communion  was  consummated.  The  work 


3.  Butt,   I.   L.  African   Methodism   in   Virginia,   pp.   32,   33. 


106  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

for  this  denomination  in  Virginia  was  not  independent  at  first, 
but  was  carried  on  through  the  Baltimore  Conference  from 
1864  until  May,  1867,  when  the  Virginia  Conference  was  or 
ganized  at  Richmond,  Va. 

In  the  face  of  the  foregoing  facts  which  so  conclusively  in 
dicate  a  real  secession  of  African  Methodists  from  the  Meth 
odist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  how  is  it  possible  that  a  talented 
Negro  writer  should  have  so  distorted  the  whole  spirit  of  Vir 
ginians  and  perhaps  that  of  the  whole  South,  concerning  the 
affiliation  of  Negro  members,  as  to  write :  "The  result  of  the 
war  was  the  complete  expulsion  of  Negroes  from  white  churches. 
Little  has  been  said  of  this,  but  perhaps  it  was  in  itself  the  most 
singular  and  tremendous  result  of  slavery.  The  Methodist 
Church  South  simply  set  its  Negro  members  bodily  out  of  doors. 
They  did  it  with  some  consideration  for  their  feelings,  with  as 
much  kindliness  as  crass  unkindliness  can  show,  but  they  vir 
tually  said  to  all  their  black  members — to  the  black  mammies 
whom  they  have  almost  fulsomely  praised  and  whom  they  re 
member  in  such  astonishing  numbers  to-day,  to  the  polite  and 
deferential  old  servant,  to  whose  character  they  build  mon 
uments — they  said  to  them:  'You  cannot  worship  God  with 
us'  ....  Flagrantly  unchristian  as  this  course  was,  it  was 
still  in  some  ways  better  than  the  absolute  withdrawal  of  church 
fellowship  on  the  part  of  the  Baptists  or  the  policy  of  the  Epis 
copalians  which  was  simply  that  of  studied  neglect  and  dis 
couragement  which  froze,  harried  and  well  nigh  invited  the 
black  communicants  to  withdraw"  ? 4  We  know  that  the  es 
tablishment  of  the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1870 
was  really  best  for  both  races,  yet  how  can  it  be  correct  to 
speak  of  setting  people  out -of  doors  when  they  voluntarily  went 
out?  Is  it  fair  to  whites  or  blacks  so  to  emphasize  facts  as  to 
distort  the  truth?  Is  it  not  well  known  that  when  the  Colored 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  set  up  the  buildings  used  ex 
clusively  by  Negroes  before  1870  were  given  to  them,  and  no 
desire  was  shown  to  mistreat  any  or  set  anybody  "bodily  out  of 
doors?"  Historv  cannot  be  sacrificed  for  the  sake  of  rhetoric. 


4.  The  Negro  in  the  South,  p.  173,  from  chapter  entitled  "Religion 
in  the   South,"  by  W.   E.   B.   Du   Bois. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  107 

\Ye  shall  next  see  whether  the  white  Baptists  were  guilty  of 
neglecting  the  Negro  members  or  not.  A  very  valuable  manu 
script  letter  preserved  in  the  Archives  of  the  State  Library  at 
Richmond,  Va.,  written  by  Horace  C.  Hovey  to  C.  Poindexter, 
describes  some  of  the  events  of  that  memorable  Sunday  after 
the  occupation  of  Richmond  by  the  Federal  Army.  It  relates 
that  the  Federal  officers  decided  to  encourage  church  services  on 
that  day  but  resolved  to  supervise  them  with  delegates  from  the 
Christian  Commission.  The  morning  service  at  the  First  African 
Church  passed  without  incident.  Mr.  Hovey,  one  of  the  super 
visors,  heard,  however,  that  there  was  danger  of  disturbance 
in  the  afternoon  and  when  he  arrived  he  found  Dr.  Ryland,  the 
white  pastor,  talking  to  some  excited  colored  soldiers.  The 
troopers  were  Abolitionists  from  Massachusetts  and  objected  to 
Dr.  Ryland  as  a  Secessionist  and  because  he  had  advised  the 
slaves  to  stay  with  their  masters.  Mr.  Hovey  showed  to  these 
soldiers  the  good  sense  of  the  advice  given  and  it  was  agreed 
that  the  congregation  should  decide  whether  their  regular  pastor 
should  preach  or  some  other  person.  The  congregation  voted 
in  favor  of  their  own  pastor ;  the  doors  were  opened  and  the 
meeting  concluded  without  further  disturbance.  We  believe  that 
such  decisions  may  have  continued  but  for  the  influence  of  agi 
tators.  It  was  soon  evident  that  the  day  of  the  white  pastor's 
desirability  for  the  Negro  pulpit  had  passed.  Speaking  at  the 
Centennial  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  Dr.  Ryland  said,  con 
cerning  giving  up  his  great  work  of  twenty-five  years :  "At  the 
close  of  the  war,  the  Constitution  and  rules  of  the  order  were 
so  far  modified,  as  to  adapt  them  to  the  new  relations  which  the 
colored  people  sustained  to  society.  The  Pastor  then  offered 
his  resignation,  from  a  belief  that  they  would  naturally  and 
justly  prefer  a  minister  of  their  own  color.  This  resignation 
was  proposed  and  accepted  with  mutual  kindness  and  good 
will."  5 

In  General  Associations  from  1867  to  1874  an  active  interest 
was  manifested  by  the  Baptists,  yet  practical  efforts  were  sadly 


5.  The  First  Century  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  pp.  263,  264. 
Also  see  a  short  History  of  the  Oilfield  Baptist  Church  of  Peters 
burg,  Va.,  1803-1903,  by  Richard  Kennard. 


108  REUGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   QF   THE    NEGRO 

handicapped  by   lack    of    means    throughout    the   impoverished 
State.     At  the  Lynchburg  meeting  of  the  General   Association 
in  1867  the  Committee  on  the  Instruction  of  the  Colored  People 
said :     "Our  obligation  to  impart  religious  instruction  to  the  col 
ored  race  is  unquestionable.     It  has  long  been  acknowledged  and 
acted  upon  by  this  body We  shall  be  culpably  in 
consistent,   if,  while  making  the  effort  to   send  the  message  of 
salvation  to  Africa,  we  neglect  to  proclaim  it  among  the  Africans 
in  our  midst." c     This  preamble  was  followed  by  suitable  reso 
lutions.      At   the    same   Association   the   report   of   the    Sunday- 
school  and  Publication  Board   for  Virginia  showed  progress   in 
distributing  Bibles  to  the  Freedmen.     In  1868  the  Committee  on 
Instruction   reported   to   the   General   Assembly   at   Alexandria : 
"We  feel  now  as  we  have  always  felt,  the  deepest  interest  in  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  this  people.     Recent  events  though  weaken 
ing  our  influence  with  them,  have  not  impaired  our  obligations 
to  give  them  the  word  of  life,  etc."  7     The  General  Association 
meeting  at   Norfolk   in   1870  instructed   the   Sunday-school   and 
Bible  Board  to  give  attention  to  "the  establishment  and  main 
tenance    of    Sunday-schools    among   the   colored   people   of    this 
State."  8     At   the   morning   session   of   the   General   Association 
June  1st,   1871,  J.  B.  Watkins,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the 
Sunday-school   and   Bible    Board,   declared   that   the   Board   had 
endeavored  to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  the  last  Association 
concerning    establishing    colored    Sunday-schools.      Rev.    T.    W. 
Sydnor,  D.  D.,  had  been  appointed  to  undertake  the  work  and 
"traveled  hundreds  of  miles ;   visited  churches  and  Sunday-school 
Conventions ;  delivered  sermons  and  addresses ;  distributed  Tes 
taments,   and   organized   directly   seven   colored    Sunday-schools, 
besides  influencing  the  establishment  of  others,  and  encouraging 
and  strengthening  existing  ones."    The  good  work  of  Dr.  Sydnor 
continued  during  the  year  succeeding  the  last  Association.     We 
find  a  very  interesting  entry  in  the  report  of  the  missionary  of 
the  Sunday-school  and  Bible  Board  to  the  General  Association 
at  the  Staunton  meeting  in  May,  1872,  which  reads:    "One  great 


6.  American    Baptist   Year    Book    1868. 

7.  Ibid   1869. 

8.  Ibid  1871. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  109 

mistake  that  the  colored  people  have  made  has  been  to  hold  po 
litical  meetings   in  connection   with  their  religious   assemblages. 
I  endeavor  to  discourage  this  in  every  suitable  way,  and  I  find 
that  my  presence  at  their  meetings  sometimes  embarrasses  the 
politicians  very  much."     In   1873  because  of   insufficient   funds 
it  was  necessary  to  dispense  with  the  very  excellent  services  of 
Dr.  Sydnor  but  the  Board  pledged  to  do  its  best.    The  Domestic 
Mission  Board  at  this  same  Association  reported  that  much  labor 
had  been  expended  on  the  colored  people  with  happy  results.     In 
1874  the  General  Association    was    gratified    to  state  that  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society  had  appointed  Rev.  Walter 
H.  Brooks,  colored,  of  Richmond,  as  general  Sunday-school  mis 
sionary  among  Negroes  in  Virginia.     The  cumulative  evidence 
of  the   above  statements   would   indicate   that  there   was   indis 
putably  a  vital  interest  in  the  religious  welfare  of  the  lately  en 
slaved   race.     In   1879,   a  committee  of  eight  appointed   in   the 
General  Baptist  Association  "to  consider  and  report  on  the  pro 
priety  of  cultivating  more  intimate  relations  with  the  colored  Bap 
tists  of  the  State"  °  brought  in  its  recommendations  that  five  cor 
responding  delegates  to  the  Colored  Baptist  Convention  be  ap 
pointed,  and  seats  be  provided  at  all  times  in  the  White  Association 
for  invited  delegates  from  the  Colored  Convention  and  provision 
be  made  or  caused  to  be  made  for  the  "hospitable  and  appropriate 
entertainment  of  said  colored  delegates  during  the  sessions  of 
the  Association ;"  further,  that  the  District  Associations  endeavor 
to  promote  kind  relationships  between  the  races  and  the  evan 
gelization  of  the  blacks ;  further,  that  white  Baptists  aid  the  black 
Baptists  in  acquiring  knowledge,  to  increase  their  efficiency  by 
means  of  ministers'  institutes,  etc.,  and  lastly,  that  the  General 
Association  should  aid  any  influence  that  made  the  desired  bet 
terment  of  the  religious    life    of    Negroes.10     These  references 
prove  anything  but  an  "absolute  withdrawal  of  church   fellow 
ship"  on  the  part  of  the  whites. 

The  matter  looks  different  from  another  angle.  We  see  that 
the  Negroes  soon  after  the  war  seceded  from  the  Baptist  Church 
and  formed  their  own  ecclesiastical  organization,  had  their  own 


9.  Minutes  of  Virginia  Baptist  General  Association   1879  sec.   13. 

10.  Minutes   of  Virginia   Baptist    General   Association   1879   sec.    13. 


110  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE    NEGRO 

preachers  and  worshipped  in  their  own  churches.11  The  whites 
offered  no  objection  and  in  reality  encouraged  the  Negroes  in 
this  course.  Before  the  close  of  1866  a  number  of  Negro  Bap 
tist  churches  of  the  South  had  formed  a  connection  with  North 
ern  Baptist  societies  and  in  August,  1866,  a  Convention  known 
as  the  American  Baptist  (African)  Missionary  Convention  met 
at  Richmond,  Va.12  In  Alexandria,  Culpeper,  Fredericksburg, 
Williamsburg,  Portsmouth  and  Richmond,  schools  were  main 
tained  which  offered  special  opportunities  for  training  a  Negro 
ministry.18 

On  May  9th,  1867,  the  Virginia  Baptist  State  Convention 
(Colored),  was  organized  in  the  Zion  Baptist  Church  at  Ports 
mouth,  Va.,  by  members  of  the  Norfolk  Union  Baptist  and  Col 
ored  Shiloh  Associations.  The  first  anniversary  was  held  in  the 
Bute  Street  Baptist  Church  at  Norfolk,  May  13th,  1868.14  It 
would  seem  that  this  Negro  ecclesiastical  organization,  instead  of 
suffering  from  neglect — as  the  Negro  Baptists  are  said  to  have 
suffered — had  had  no  desire  to  have  any  dealings  with  the  white 
organization  and  certainly  had  made  no  formal  report  to  the 
whites  of  their  existence  as  a  church  body  up  to  the  time  of  the 
following  communication :  "The  Virginia  Baptist  State  Con 
vention  to  the  General  Baptist  Association  of  Virginia,  in  its 
48th  Annual  Session  in  the  city  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  1871 ;  Dear 
Brethren — We  greet  you  with  Christian  salutations :  We  are 
a  body  of  Baptists  organized  into  a  State  Convention  in  1868, 
for  missionary  work  in  this,  our  noble  State  of  Virginia. 

"Our  sole  object  is  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and 
the  interest  of  his  kingdom,  by  sending  out  missionaries,  plant 
ing  and  training  churches,  and  assisting  feeble  Baptist  churches 
in  the  support  of  their  pastors  throughout  the  State  of  Virginia 
as  far  as  lieth  within  the  ability  of  the  Convention. 

"We  are  adherents  to  one  faith,  one  Lord  and  one  baptism, 
yea,  to  all  the  vital  principles  of  the  great  Baptist  family,  there 
fore,  we  respectfully  ask  correspondence  with  you  in  the  laud 
able  work  of  evangelizing  this  our  State.  For  opening  cor- 


11.  Peyton,   History   of  Augusta    County,   p.   ! 

12.  American  Annual   Cyclopedia,   1866,  p.  «58. 

13.  Ibid,  1867,  p.  87. 

14.  American   Baptist  Year  Book,   1869. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOP  ME)  NT   OF   THE    NEGRO  111 

respondence  with  us,  we  send  with  this  letter  our  beloved  Pres 
ident,  Richard  Wells,  of  Richmond,  and  pastor  of  the  Ebenezer 
Church  in  said  city.  Our  Convention  recently  met  in  Lynch- 
bnrg.  We  have  not  our  statistics  for  1871  at  hand.  Our  sta 
tistics  for  1870  stand:  churches  37;  Baptisms  1,800;  Total 
membership  22,387.  We  received  several  additions  at  our  recent 
annual  session.  We  have  a  Sabbath-school  Union  under  the  aus 
pices  of  this  Convention.  It  is  composed  of  26  schools  and 
3,100  scholars. 

"Pray  for  us  dear  brethren;  may  the  love  of  Christ  which 
passeth  all  knowledge,  dwell  richly  within  your  hearts. 

"Receive  our  beloved  President  and  representative  in  love, 
and  may  the  blessings  of  Christ,  the  great  head  of  the  churches, 
ever  preside  over  you,  direct  your  deliberations  and  work  for 
our  common  Master  is  our  prayer,  Amen. 

"Done  by  order  of  the  above  named  Convention,  in  its  fourth 
Annual  Session  in  Lynchburg,  Va.,  May  1871. 

"Richard  Wells,   President, 

"E.    Carprew,   Corresponding   Sec'y."  15 

The  committee  from  the  Baptist  General  Association  of  Vir 
ginia,  with  the  eminent  Dr.  J.  B.  Jeter  as  chairman,  to  whom 
the  above  communication  was  referred,  respectfully  reported 
that  the  right  to  organize  and  govern  churches  and  provide  for 
all  necessary  arrangements  for  worship  and  prosperity  was  freely 
acknowledged  to  be  the  privilege  and  right  of  the  colored  breth 
ren  ;  congratulations  were  sent  to  the  Convention  because  of  their 
successful  work  in  spreading  the  Gospel,  and  the  kind,  Christian 
sentiments  expressed  in  their  communication  were  heartily  re 
ciprocated  ;  proffers  of  aid  in  their  pious  labors  were  pledged  in 
ways  deemed  expedient.  It  was  finally  resolved,  (1)  "That  from 
considerations,  which  we  need  not  specify  and  cannot  control, 
we  deem  it  inexpedient  to  enter  into  an  interchange  of  corre 
sponding  messengers  with  the  Convention;10  but  (2)  that  the 


15.  Section  55  of  Convention  Minutes  of  General  Ass'n  of  Virginia, 
preserved   in   Virginia    Baptist    Historical    Collection,    Richmond,    Va. 

16.  Section   80   of   Convention    Minutes    of  Ass'n    of   Virginia,    pre 
served   in   Virginia   Baptist  Historical   Society   Collection,   Richmond, 
Va. 


112  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

President  of  the  Association  be  requested  to  address  a  letter  to 
the  Convention,  assuring  them  of  our  friendly  regards,  our 
hearty  sympathy  in  their  work,  and  our  readiness  to  co-operate 
with  them,  so  far  as  circumstances  may  permit,  and  that  the 
clerk  of  this  body  be  directed  to  forward  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Convention  fifty  copies  of  our  minutes."  Concerning  mat 
ters  which  threatened  to  lead  to  social  equality  the  whites  were 
naturally  very  anxious  at  this  particular  time,  but  in  matters 
strictly  religious  these  men  certainly  had  hearts  filled  with  in 
terest  for  the  Negroes'  betterment.  That  the  refusal  to  inter 
change  corresponding  messengers  was  based  wholly  on  the  fear 
of  such  an  innovation  leading  to  social  equality,  we  can  gather 
from  an  article  published  in  the  September  7th,  1871,  issue  of 
the  Richmond  Religious  Herald  of  which  Dr.  Jeter  was  editor. 
He  writes :  "God  has  made  the  two  races  widely  different ;  not 
only  in  complexion,  but  in  their  instincts  and  social  qualities. 
We  take  it  for  granted  that  it  was  not  the  purpose  of  the  Cre 
ator  that  they  should  be  blended.  Nature  abhors  the  union. 
.  .  .  .  Religious  and  social  intercourse  are  closely  if  not  in 
separably  connected.  Suppose  we  admit  colored  delegates  to 
seats  in  our  Association,  we  must,  of  course,  allow  them  to  sit 
where  they  choose,  in  juxtaposition  with  our  wives  and  daugh 
ters,  and  the  privilege  granted  to  them  must  be  equally  granted 
to  their  associates.  But  if  we  invite  colored  delegates  to  seats 
in  our  religious  bodies,  we  must  invite  them  to  share  in  our  hos 
pitality.  We  must  maintain  our  consistency,  receive  them  to  our 
tables,  our  parlors,  and  our  chambers,  and  the  hospitality  ex 
tended  to  them,  must  be  granted  to  their  wives,  daughters  and 
associates."  The  President  of  the  Virginia  Baptist  State  Con 
vention  expressed  qu.ite  philosophically  his  disapprobation  of 
such  reasoning  and  then  concluded  with  a  touch  of  humor  in 
the  last  sentence :  "This  Convention  will  not  mourn  at  the  non- 
interchange,  nor  slacken  her  progress  but  will  move  on  trusting 
in  that  God  who  has  no  respect  of  persons.  So  far,  she  has 
proven  herself  to  be  void  of  prejudice,  of  colorphobia,  of  caste, 
of  lines  of  demarkation  on  account  of  nativity,  nationality, 
tongue,  tribe  or  kindred."  17  In  1879  when  political  matters 


17.  See  Minutes  Va.  Baptist  State  Convention  1872,  p.  26. 


REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  113 

were  again  nearer  normal  and  both  races  had  come  to  a  better 
understanding,  we  find  the  Christian  love  continuing  and  the 
social  equality  bugbear  fading  into  insignificance. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church 
on  November  15th,  1866,  discussed  the  relation  of  the  freedmen 
of  that  church  to  its  white  members.  There  were  warm  dis 
cussions  throughout  the  South,  some  maintaining  that  there 
should  be  ecclesiastical  equality  in  the  matter  of  becoming  dea 
cons,  ministers,  etc.,  and  the  other  party  in  absolute  opposition 
to  such  a  course.  The  dread  of  miscegenation  was  made  evi 
dent  during  the  argument  over  this  ecclesiastical  matter.18 

In  1866  at  the  first  general  conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis 
copal  Church,  South,  which  met  at  New  Orleans,  La.,  the  Ne 
groes  were  granted  the  privilege  of  organizing  into  separate  con 
gregations,  having  their  own  preachers,  etc.  Undoubtedly,  all 
of  the  Southern  churches  were  interested  in  the  spiritual  wel 
fare  of  the  Negro,  but  they  were  somewhat  bewildered  to  know 
just  what  was  best  to  do.  While  the  Southern  churches  were 
hesitating  because  of  the  lack  of  men  and  money  the  Northern 
churches  little  disturbed  by  the  war  were  very  active. 

That  the  South  should  have  been  considered  a  legitimate  field 
for  missionary  effort  after  the  war  need  occasion  no  surprise. 
The  work  clone  by  the  Abolition  societies  and  the  influence  of 
biased  writings  had  badly  misrepresented  the  religious  condi 
tions  south  of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line.  Conscientious  men 
and  women  from  the  North  were  ready  at  the  close  of  warfare 
to  gird  on  their  Christian  armor  and  go  into  the  far  country  and 
struggle  as  did  the  Crusaders  of  old.  They  did  struggle  faith 
fully,  in  the  face  of  tremendous  odds.  The  full  length  portrait 
of  the  Northern  missionary  has  never  yet  been  faithfully  painted. 
Southerners  omit  the  Bible  in  his  hand  and  depict  only  the  ideas 
of  social  equality  in  his  heart ;  Northerners  show  him  as  an  angel 
in  the  midst  of  devils  and  forget  his  human  attributes.  Neither 
section  now  doubts  his  indiscretions ;  neither  now  impugns  his 
motives.  One  section  finds  too  much  to  condemn ;  the  other  sees 
only  too  much  to  praise.  In  the  near  future  his  work  will  be 


18.  Am.  Annual  Cyclopedia,  1866,  p.  625. 


114  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

fairly  evaluated  and  then  the  Negro  will  realize  that  the  North 
ern  whites  and  the  Southern  whites  aided  in  forwarding  the 
laudable  religious  amelioration  of  the  Negro  race  in  this  Com 
monwealth.  With  much  outside  aid  and  with  the  Negroes  help 
ing  themselves  is  it  any  wonder  that  they  improved?  Besides 
the  work  undertaken  by  the  American  Missionary  Association 
and  the  Society  of  friends,  which  we  have  mentioned  above,  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the 
Board  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  North  which  put  forth  its 
"declaration  in  favor  of  special  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  lately 
emancipated  African  race"  in  1865,  and  was  later  incorporated 
as  "The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  for  Freedmen  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,"  the  Mis 
sion  Boards  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  and  Baptist  Churches — 
all  of  these  were  active  in  evangelizing  the  Negroes  and  spent 
large  sums  of  money  to  effect  this  noble  purpose.19  Their  mo 
tives  were  excellent  but  their  manner  of  doing  the  work  was  cer 
tainly  open  to  criticism.  Their  work  co-ordinated  in  few  places 
with  work  already  done  by  the  whites  and  it  need  cause  no  sur 
prise  that  before  many  years  had  passed  most  of  them  had  folded 
their  tents  and  had  gone  to  other  fields  of  service.  Many  mis 
sionaries  were  astounded  at  the  religious  knowledge  which  some 
•Negroes  possessed.  Indeed  when  the  facts  are  carefully  weighed 
it  will  then  be  known  that  the  Northern  missionaries  did  not 
erect  a  character  structure  dc  novo  but  built  a  showy  super 
structure  upon  foundations  well-laid  before  the  war.  One 
planted  and  another  reaped.  It  was  not  so  much  the  type  of 
religious  teaching  as  their  attitude  toward  the  Negro  socially 
that  threw  the  work  of  Northern  missionaries  out  of  joint  with 
previous  religious  efforts.  In  spite  of  pertness  and  flippancy, 
too  often  inculcated  with  religious  instruction,  the  whole  in 
fluence  of  the  Northern  missionaries  was  highly  beneficial  to 
the  religious  life  of  the  Negro. 

One  of  the  foremost  educational  institutions  which  the  North 
ern  Missionary  Boards  founded  has  become  a  worthy  work 
which  is  inspiring  to  better  life  and  abler  service  many  whose 
lives  would  not  otherwise  be  influenced  by  the  Christian  religion. 
This  institution  is  now  called  the  Virginia  Union  University. 


19.    Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  27:660-66. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   op   fHE    NEGRO  115 


In  1865,  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  through 
Dr.  J.  C.  Binney  opened  the  Richmond  Theological  School  for 
Freedmen.  In  1867,  this  school  was  reopened  in  Lumpkin's 
Jail  by  Dr.  Nathaniel  Colver  and  called  Colver  Institute.  In 
1868,  Dr.  C.  H.  Corey,  an  educator  and  a  man  of  great  con 
structive  ability,  took  charge.  In  1876,  the  school  was  incor 
porated  as  The  Richmond  Institute  and  in  1886  its  name  was 
changed  to  Richmond  Theological  Seminary.  A  union  of  the 
Richmond  Ideological  Seminary  of  Richmond,  Va.,  and  Way- 
land  Seminary  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  in  1899  resulted  in  the 
Virginia  Union  University  now  located  in  beautiful  stone  build 
ings  on  spacious  grounds  in  the  suburbs  of  Richmond.  The 
income  of  Virginia  Union  is  derived  from  the  interest  on  the 
$83,000  endowment  and  contributions  of  the  American  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society.  The  alumni  of  this  institution  have 
done  much  to  redeem  the  Negro  ministry  of  this  state  from 
ignorance.  The  preachers  which  they  have  graduated  are  usu 
ally  leaders  and  have  the  respect  of  the  communities  in  which 
they  live. 

The  three  departments  of  the  University  are  :  a  College  of 
Liberal  Arts  :  a  Theological  Seminary  ;  and  an  Academy  with 
Manual  Training.  We  shall  be  concerned  only  with  the  The 
ological  Seminary.  The  requirements  for  admission  for  can 
didates  for  the  degrees  of  Bachelor  of  Divinity  are  graduation 
from  an  approved  college  or  equivalent  work,  or  graduation 
from  an  academy,  extraordinary  ability  and  extra  work  assigned 
by  the  Faculty.  Two  years  of  Greek  is  prerequisite  to  the  B.  D. 
course,  and  a  thesis  is  required  from  each  candidate  before  the 
degree  is  conferred.  These  are  the  courses  offered. 

ORIGINAL  LANGUAGE  COURSE. 

FIRST  YEAR. 

First  Term.  Second  Term. 

Biblical  Introduction 
Hebrew  Language 
Greek  Language 

Elocution  and  Speaking  The  same  except  Greek  Inter- 

Vocal  Music  pretation  is  offered  instead  of 

Sacred  Rhetoric  Greek  Language. 


116  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

SECOND   YEAR. 

First  Term.  Second  Term. 
Church  History  The  same  except  Greek  Inter- 
Hebrew  Interpretation  pretation  is  offered  instead  of 
Homiletics  Hebrew      Interpretation      and 
Elocution  and  Speaking  Church     Polity     is     added     to 
Vocal  Music  Homiletics. 
Sacred  Rhetoric 

THIRD    YEAR. 

First  Term.  Second  Term. 
Christian  Ethics  The  same  except  Pastorial  Du- 
Christian  Theology  ties  are  offered  instead  of 
Life  and  Teaching  of  Jesus  Christian  Ethics  and  Electives 
Elocution  and  Speaking  instead  of  Life  and  Teaching- 
Sacred.  Rhetoric  of  Jesus. 

The  English  course  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  as  its  name 
indicates,  omits  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  and  replaces  them  with 
Principles  of  Interpretation  and  the  Interpretations  of  the  Gos 
pels,  Acts,  the  Epistles,  Poets  and  Prophets,  and  Revelation. 

A  Special  Course  is  given  for  those  unable  to  gain  admission 
to  the  regular  Theological  Courses  and  would  undoubtedly  do 
great  good  if  more  of  the  actively  engaged  but  poorly  prepared 
ministers  would  take  advantage  of  it. 

Virginians  have  good  reason  to  take  a  greater  interest  in  an 
institution  that  has  done  so  much  for  the  welfare  of  a  portion  of 
the  citizens  of  this  Commonwealth.  Some  of  the  faculty  are 
white  and  others  colored.  Able  men  are  in  its  faculty,  and  high 
ideals  are  inculcated  under  the  Presidency  of  Dr.  George  Rice 
Hovey,  a  white  gentleman  of  scholarly  attainments  and  good 
judgment. 

The  Bishop  Payne  Divinity  School  had  its  beginning  in  1878 
because  of  the  necessity  of  training  Negroes  to  do  religious  work 
among  Negroes.  In  1884  the  State  Legislature  incorporated  it 
as  an  institution  "for  the  purpose  of  educating  colored  persons 
for  the  ministry  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church."  The 
School  is  located  in  Petersburg,  Va.,  has  four  full  Professors  and 
a  Principal,  is  the  recognized  Theological  School  of  the  General 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  117 

Church  for  educating  Negro  candidates  for  the  ministry,  and 
is  supported  by  the  General  Board  of  Missions,  the  American 
Church  Institute  for  Negroes,  and  the  contributions  of  friends. 
One  member  of  the  faculty,  the  warden,  who  is  also  professor  of 
Latin,  Greek,  Philosophy,  History  and  English,  is  a  Negro;  the 
others  are  white.  Two  courses  are  offered :  one  for  Deacon's 
Orders  and  the  other  for  Priest's  Orders.  The  first  course  in 
cludes  Biblical  Study,  Hebrew  and  Greek,  Prayer  Book,  The 
ology,  Church  History,  English  Language  and  Church  Polity. 
The  second  course,  for  Priest's  Orders,  has  prerequisite  academic 
examinations.  The  studies  in  this  course  are :  Apologetics,  Ex- 
egetical  Theology,  Doctrinal  Theology,  Pastorial  Theology,  The 
English  Bible,  the  Prayer  Book  and  Christian  Ethics.  Most  of 
these  last-named  courses  run  through  three  years  and  lead  to 
the  B.  D.  degree.  The  standing  of  this  school  is  a  credit  to  the 
well-known  scholarship  of  the  white  Episcopal  ministry.  Nat 
urally,  the  enrollment  is  small,  but  the  students  are  very  diligent 
while  in  the  school  and  are  eminently  qualified  to  lead  their  race 
when  they  leave  it. 

The  other  prominent  Negro  theological  institution  in  this  State 
is  the  Virginia  Theological  Seminary  and  College  located  at 
Lynchburg,  Va.  In  May,  1887,  the  Virginia  Seminary,  as  it  was 
first  called,  was  founded  by  the  Virginia  Baptist  State  Conven 
tion  (Negro)  and  in  1888  it  was  incorporated.  In  1899,  the 
charter  was  so  changed  as  to  add  Theological  and  College  Courses. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  the  institution  assumed  its  present  name. 
The  colored  Baptists  of  Virginia,  Maryland,  District  of  Columbia, 
Pennsylvania,  New  England  Convention,  New  York  Convention, 
and  New  Jersey  Convention  supported  the  work  and  have  en 
dorsed  it  as  their  special  educational  work.  The  degrees  offered 
in  the  Theological  Department  are  Bachelor  of  Divinity  and 
Bachelor  of  Theology  with  the  distinction  that  the  second  course 
is  without  Greek  and  Hebrew.  The  three  year  courses  are  well 
filled  with  work. 

This  institution  is  now  a  school  "of  the  Negroes,  by  the  Ne 
groes  and  for  the  Negroes."  Its  alumni  have  done  meritorious 
service  in  the  ministry  and  have  reflected  credit  on  their  alma 
mater.  The  fact  that  its  faculty  is  made  up  of  Negroes  entirely 
is  very  interesting.  Is  the  time  ripe  for  Negroes  to  assume  con- 


118  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   o$   TH£    NEGRO 


trol  of  the  education  of  their  own  race,  or  has  the  white  man 
work  to  do  yet  in  aiding  this  racial  uplift?  Virginia  Theological 
Seminary  and  College  has  answered  the  question  in  one  way, 
and  Virginia  Union  University  and  Hampton  have  answered  it 
in  the  other. 

We  shall  merely  mention  a  few  of  the  splendid  non-theological 
institutions  that  are  doing  much  for  the  welfare  of  the  Negroes 
in  Virginia.  The  Hampton  Normal  and  Agricultural  Institute 
is  perhaps  the  most  distinguished  Negro  school  in  America.  It 
was  opened  in  1868  under  the  auspices  of  the  American  Mission 
ary  Association  with  General  Samuel  C.  Armstrong  in  charge. 
In  1870  it  was  chartered  and  became  independent  of  the  Mis 
sionary  Association.  It  is  now  inter-denominational  and  is  do 
ing  the  practical  work  for  its  students  that  makes  them  love 
truth  and  order  and  makes  them  hate  hypocrisy  and  lawlessness. 
The  Hampton  graduate  has  an  abundant  incentive  to  live  well. 
Dr.  Hollis  B.  Frissell,  a  white  man,  and  one  of  the  really  able 
students  of  the  Negro  question,  is  principal,  and  his  faculty,  in 
structors  and  officers  are  whites,  Negroes  or  Indians.  Bible  in 
struction  is  included  in  the  catalogued  courses  and  other  re 
ligious  touches  are  given  by  the  faculty  teaching  Bible  classes, 
the  influence  of  orderly  prayer  meetings,  daily  evening  prayers, 
the  active  college  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  the  active  King's  Daughters. 
About  ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  students  are  professing  Chris 
tians  and  these  create  a  sentiment  for  a  more  intelligent  Negro 
ministry  wherever  they  settle. 

The  Virginia  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  situated  at 
Petersburg,  Va.,  is  open  to  both  sexes.  It  was  founded  by  Act 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  in  1882.  A  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and 
a  Y.  W.  C.  A.  are  in  the  Institute,  as  well  as  a  large  temperance 
society  to  which  most  of  the  students  belong.  All  students  are 
expected  to  attend  the  religious  services  of  their  choice  on  Sun 
day  mornings  in  Petersburg.  This  State  institution  has  done 
much  to  put  well-equipped  Negro  teachers  throughout  Virginia 
and  these  carry,  among  other  things,  elevated  religious  ideals 
which  they  imbibed  during  their  period  of  study. 

Hartshorn  Memorial  College  had  its  beginning  in  the  Ebenezer 
Baptist  Chuch,  Richmond,  Va.,  in  1883.  In  1884,  it  was  chartered 
by  the  Legislature.  It  is  now  well  situated  on  West  Leigh  Street, 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   oF   THE    NEGRO  119 

in  the  same  city,  and  is  an  institution  founded  for  women  only. 
That  its  aim  was  thoroughly  Christian  can  be  judged  from  the 
memorial  inscription  of  its  founder,  Joseph  C.  Hartshorn,  and 
also  from  a  statement  of  its  aim,  as  expressed  in  a  catalogue  of 
1883-84:  "It  comes  into  existence  with  the  single  purpose  of 
raising  up  a  body  of  thoroughly  educated  Christian  women  as 
consecrated  workers  in  the  harvest  field  of  the  world.  The  homes, 
the  churches,  the  Sunday-schools,  the  public  schools,  the  mission 
fields  of  the  Fatherland  now  open,  are  calling  for  cultivated 
Christian  womanhood." 

The  St.  Paul  Normal  and  Industrial  School  was  founded  by  a 
Negro  Episcopal  clergyman,  Rev.  James  S.  Russell.  It  is  lo 
cated  in  the  heart  of  the  "Black  Belt"  of  Virginia  and  had  its 
start  in  a  little  two  story  building,  in  which  Mr.  Russell  held  a 
small  school  in  1883.  In  1888  a  Normal  Department  was  added 
and  since  then  this  small  beginning  has  grown  to  be  a  splendid 
institution  with  at  least  twenty-eight  buildings,  well-equipped, 
and  doing  a  magnificent  service  in  the  training  of  Negroes,  just 
where  they  need  it  most.  This  institution  is  commended  by  the 
General  Episcopal  Convention  "to  the  thoughtful  consideration 
and  substantial  aid  of  all  Churchmen  who  desire  that  the  'Colored 
youth  of  the  South'  may  be  trained  in  the  principles  of  educa 
tion,  industry  and  religion."  The  school  is  a  credit  to  its  founder 
as  well  as  to  those  upon  whom  it  has  leaned  for  support. 

No  man  can  possibly  estimate  the  good  which  these  foregoing 
institutions  have  done  for  the  Negro  race  in  Virginia.  Not  only 
in  the  theological  schools  but  also  in  the  others  the  Bible  is 
taught.  The  principles  of  religion  which  are  inculcated  in  these 
schools  are  sane  and  sound  and  unemotional.  It  is  the  desire  of 
the  faculties  of  most  of  these  schools  not  only  to  train  their  stu 
dents  in  the  three  R's  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  but  also 
in  the  three  H's,  head,  hand,  and  heart.  Their  conception  of 
the  education  of  the  Negro  does  not  stop  with  the  mind,  but  goes 
on  to  the  body  and  spirit.  The  educated  Negro  is  desirous  not 
only  to  know  something  and  do  something,  but  more  important 
still,  he  is  filled  with  a  desire  to  be  something  for  the  uplift  of 
his  less  fortunate  brothers.  If  we  converse  with  prison  officials, 
we  find  that  the  educated  Negroes  stay  out  of  trouble ;  if  we  con 
verse  with  doctors,  we  find  that  the  educated  Negroes  take  the 


120  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE    NEGRO 

best  care  of  their  bodies;  if  we  converse  with  ministers,  white 
or  black,  we  soon  discover  that  the  educated  Negroes  are  neces 
sary  to  the  religious  racial  evolution.  The  main  evils  which 
have  afflicted  the  race  have  been  bred  in  an  atmosphere  of  illit 
eracy,  ignorance,  prejudice  and  superstition,  and  to  these  things 
the  educated  Negro  is  usually  unalterably  opposed.  "The  rudi 
ments  of  an  education  for  all,  industrial  training  for  many  and 
a  college  course  for  the  talented  few"  is  the  policy  which  will 
eventually  drive  away  many  spectres  of  racial  discord.  Some 
thoughtless  persons  decry  the  educated  Negro,  but  he  is  really 
indispensable  for  peace,  good  order  and  progress.  The  educated 
Negro  does  not  expect  to  break  down  racial  distinctions ;  he  only 
attacks  racial  discrimination.  On  all  sides,  the  educated  Ne 
groes  are  saying,  "We  do  not  want  to  be  white  men,  but  we  do 
want  the  justice  and  protection  which  are  due  us  as  human  be 
ings  and  American  citizens." 

According  to  the  Directory  of  1866  there  were  two  African 
Baptist  Churches,  two  African  Episcopal  Churches  and  one  Afri 
can  Methodist  Church  in  Richmond.20  By  1869  there  were  six 
African  Baptist  Churches,  one  African  Methodist  Church  and 
one  African  Episcopal  Church.21  In  this  latter  year  Rev.  John 
Jasper  is  shown  as  pastor  of  the  African  Baptist  situated  on 
fourth  and  Canal  Streets.  At  Norfolk,  the  Directory  of  1867 
shows  two  African  Baptist  Churches,  one  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  one  African  Methodist  Protestant  Church  and 
the  St.  James  Methodist  Episcopal  Chapel.22  It  will  be  noted 
that  for  the  first  two  years  after  the  war  little  progress  was 
shown  in  organizing  churches  compared  with  what  was  to  follow. 
The  stir  incidental  to  unsettled  conditions,  the  trials  of  money- 
making,  and  the  natural  division  of  opinions  at  such  a  time 
caused  building  energies  to  be  temporarily  held  in  check.  When 
these  energies  were  released,  churches  sprang  up  all  over  the 
land  and  such  churches  were  distinctively  Negro  churches. 
There  are  two  periods  of  the  church  building  and  buying  activi 
ties.  The  first  period  began  within  a  reasonably  short  time  after 


20.  Richmond  Directory  1866,  pp.  122,  123. 

21.  Ibid   1869,   p.   26. 

22.  Norfolk  City  Business  Directory. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   TH£    N£GRO  121 

the  war  ended  and  is  characterized  by  a  desire  to  erect  buildings. 
This  yearning  to  build  developed  into  something  similar  to  a 
nervous  frenzy.  When  these  churches  began  to  be  built  they 
sprang  up  like  mushrooms.  A  trip  through  the  principal  cities 
of  Virginia  would  have  shown  a  transformation  in  the  matter 
of  temples  of  worship  for  Negroes  that  might  have  made  the 
fable  of  Aladdin's  Wonderful  Lamp  seem  plausible.  Religious 
zeal,  pride,  a  desire  to  outdo  each  other,  a  desire  to  show  the 
whites  what  they  could  do,  are  some  of  the  factors  which  in 
fluenced  these  activities.  A  ministry  to  match  the  period  existed. 
The  preacher  was  a  mighty  builder  and  led  his  people  to  see 
visions  of  the  projects  ahead  of  them.  He  pleased  the  big  audi 
ences  of  emancipated  blacks  that  rushed  to  the  cities  and  was 
generally  an  adept  at  the  game  of  church  politics.  Frequently 
his  morals  were  not  good,  but  he  certainly  did  build  churches. 

The  second  period  was  that  of  the  payment  of  debts  incurred 
in  building  the  churches.  These  obligations  were  hanging  over 
many  buildings  and  the  Negroes  certainly  did  not  want  their 
property  sold  because  of  foreclosed  mortgages.  They  made  her 
culean  efforts  to  pay  for  their  churches  and  had  great  rejoicing 
when  no  more  debts  remained.  The  Negro  churches  of  Virginia 
have  surprisingly  few  debts  now  and  always  will  have  compar 
atively  few  long-standing  debts  so  long  as  the  race  continues  the 
great  sacrifices  which  they  now  make.  Judging  by  the  silence 
maintained  by  some  Negro  writers  concerning  one  phase  of  the 
Negro's  church  life,  we  might  be  led  to  believe  that  someone  had 
urged  that  the  thousands  given  by  the  whites  of  the  South  for 
Negro  churches  should  be  kept  a  profound  secret.  Money  giv 
ing  to  their  churches  is  one  form  of  Christian  activity  in  which 
the  whites  are  anxiously  urged  by  the  blacks  to  take  a  part.  No 
man  can  estimate  just  how  much  has  been  given  to  the  Negroes 
to  help  them  build.  Many  of  the  whites  regard  the  church  build 
ing  cards  which  the  Negroes  hand  one  as  nuisances,  yet  they  pay 
toll  amid  the  "Thank  you,  sir's,"  "Thank  you's,"  and  "God  bless 
you's"  of  the  recipient.  The  type  of  pastor  for  this  period  was 
a  manager  and  a  money  getter.  He  knew  business  and  generally 
was  a  calmer  man  than  the  builder  type.  He  was  usually  a  much 
greater  man  intellectually  and  morally. 

From  the  very  fact  of  their  tremendous  numbers  we  shall  be 


122  RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE    NEGRO 

unable  to  trace  the  individual  histories  of  the  Negro  churches, 
but  we  shall  endeavor  to  state  some  of  the  considerations  that 
made  the  Negro  do  as  he  did  and  some  of  them  that  made  the 
white  man  think  his  own  way.  It  was  inevitable  that  the  Ne 
gro  should  wish  to  worship  separately  from  the  whites  after  the 
war,  arid  as  the  natural  consequence,  a  withdrawal  from  the 
white  ecclesiastical  organizations  was  in  order.  Purely  Negro 
religious  communions  like  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  and  the  Afri 
can  Baptists  gathered  to  themselves  the  great  hordes  of  blacks. 
The  Negro  was  never  more  anxious  for  independence  than  he 
was  in  the  matter  of  desiring  a  church  existence  absolutely  free 
from  white  control,  oversight,  or  influence.  The  reasons  for 
desiring  this  independence  are  not  difficult  to  discern.  Soon 
after  the  cessation  of  hostilities  and  while  the  future  was  still 
in  doubt  the  whites  were  very  much  alarmed  on  account  of  a 
threatened  social  upheaval.  The  National  government  by 
amendments  to  the  Constitution,  and  by  the  act  of  March  2, 
1867,  was  attempting  to  guarantee  the  Negro  civil  and  political 
equality.  The  dread  was  always  present  in  the  South. that  civil 
and  political  equality  were  but  stepping-stones  to  social  equality. 
This  dread  affected  the  racial  relationships  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  Negro  did  not  feel  as  comfortable  in  the  white  churches  as 
he  had  felt  formerly. 

The  Negroes  who  continued  to  worship  in  white  churches  were 
confined  to  certain  pews  or  gallery  benches  after  the  War,  just 
as  they  were  before  the  first  shot  had  been  fired.  This  was  re 
pellent  to  the" Negro  because  it  seemed  a  confession  of  inferiority 
to  sit  in  separate  places,  and  further,  those  seats  reminded  them 
of  the  days  of  slavery.23  In  this  unsettled  period,  strenuous  ef 
forts  were  being  made  by  some  to  forget  that  there  had  ever  been 
such  a  thing  as  slavery,  or  social  distinctions.  The  Union  Leagues 
and  the  influence  of  some  of  the  Negro  leaders  made  it  next  to 
impossible  for  even  a  highly  respected  ante-bellum  slave  to  re 
tain  his  membership  in  a  white  congregation.  The  taunts  of  the 
women  were  especially  disconcerting.  We  must  remember,  too, 
that  the  Negro  is  naturally  gregarious  and  joined  with  the 


23.  P.  A.  Bruce,  The  Plantation  Negro  as  a  Freedman,  p.  106. 


REXIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE    NEGRO  123 

crowd.  It  required  a  discriminating  courage  to  stand  for  the 
ological  tenets  in  the  face  of  contumely  and  ostracism.  A  few 
brave  ones,  however,  would  not  be  intimidated,  but  the  vast  ma 
jority  were  mindful  of  the  pressure  brought  to  bear,  and  joined 
the  strictly  Negro  churches,  or  the  Northern  branches  of  the 
white  ecclesiastical  organizations. 

Bishop  Atticus  G.  Haygood  suggested  another  reason  when 
he  said :  "Tongues  and  ears  were  made  for  each  other ;  in  each 
race  both  its  tongues  and  its  ears  have  characteristics  of  their 
own.  No  other  tongue  can  speak  to  the  Negro's  ear  like  a  Ne 
gro's  tongue."  24  The  white  ministers  made  efforts  to  proclaim 
the  message  to  the  blacks  so  that  it  would  do  the  greatest  good, 
but  a  gulf  seemed  to  have  been  fixed  between  the  speaker  and 
the  hearers,  and  there  was  no  opportunity  for  the  perfect  per 
sonal  appeal.  The  Negro  preacher,  however  imperfect,  could 
speak  to  them  out  of  their  own  experiences;  his  psychological 
development  was  more  like  theirs;  his  message  could  be  easily 
interpreted  by  them;  he  rarely,  if  ever,  rose  above  the  level  of 
their  intelligence.  Their  own  preachers  were  far  more  con 
genial  to  their  tastes,  and  their  theological  ideas  far  more  plausi 
ble  to  the  blacks  than  anything  the  whites  could  offer  them. 

But  the  strongest  reason  of  all,  perhaps,  for  separate  worship 
was  the  fact  that  religious  exercises  in  the  white  churches  were 
restrained  and  gave  little  opportunity  for  the  "happy"  worship 
pers  to  give  vent  to  their  feelings.  Without  some  clapping  of 
hands,  stamping  of  feet,  shaking  of  heads,  shouting,  falling  out, 
etc.,  the  service  would  have  seemed  rather  flat  to  the  enthusias 
tic  Negro  believers  of  those  days.  In  the  big  meeting 
times  at  the  Negro  churches  when  emotionalism  was 
manifest  at  its  worst,  we  are  told  that  frequently  the  Negro 
women  would  stop  falling  out  because  no  one  would  catch  them, 
and  if  one  did  fall,  the  black  exhorter,  wildly  excited  and  pro 
fusely  perspiring,  has  been  heard  to  send  his  commanding  voice 
ringing  through  the  house,  filled  almost  to  suffocation  with  emo 
tional  worshippers :  "God  drott'er,  doan  touch  'er.  Let'er  stay 
whar  de  Lord  flung  'er."  All  of  this  seems  crude  enough  to  us 
at  the  present  day  in  comparison  with  the  quiet,  well-behaved 


24.   Atticus  G.  Haygood,  "Our  Brother  in  Black,"  p.  222. 


124  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE    NEGRO 

Negro  audiences  which  meet  every  Sunday  in  some  of  the  more 
advanced  churches  of  our  Virginia  cities.  Yet  we  must  remem 
ber  that  the  time  when  most  of  this  wild  emotionalism  was  man 
ifested  was  near  the  release  from  slavery  and  before  the  self- 
control  incident  to  education  had  been  given  an  opportunity.  It 
is  only  fair  and  just  to  say  that  such  wildly  emotional  scenes 
are  still  very  frequently  enacted  in  the  country  churches,  and 
we  have  been  in  attendance  when  such  abandon  was  seen  in 
city  churches,  not  longer  ago  than  the  first  part  of  1914.  It  is 
certain  that  this  desire  to  give  unlimited  vent  to  their  feelings 
was  a  very  prominent  factor  in  leading  to  the  ecclesiastical  sep 
aration  of  the  races. 

Another  reason  for  an  ecclesiastical  separation  is  to  be  found 
in  the  somewhat  different  conception  of  the  uses  of  a  church 
building.  Many  white  churches  are  utilized  for  regular  worship 
only.  The  Negroes  utilized  their  churches  for  social  centres,  as 
well  as  for  ordinary  worship;  and  widely  varied  are  the  uses  to 
which  their  churches  are  put.  The  Negro  church  was  the  natural 
meeting  place  of  Negroes.  Their  training  all  through  slavery 
had  taught  them  that  meetings  elsewhere  were  forbidden.  The 
preaching  services,  Sunday-schools,  prayer  meetings,  Christian 
Endeavor  Societies,  Baptist  Young  People's  Union  and  kindred 
societies  such  as  Buds,  Sunshine  Circles,  etc.,  make  up  only  a 
small  part  of  a  week's  program  in  an  ordinary  Negro  church. 
The  socials,  festivals,  debates,  lectures,  entertainments,  oyster 
suppers,  ice  cream  sales,  stereopticon  views  and  occasional  po 
litical  meetings  still  by  no  means  exhaust  the  list  of  attractions 
housed  in  the  Negro  church,  but  merely  suggest  some  of  the 
possibilities.  It  has  been  said :  "The  social  life  of  the  Negro 
centres  in  his  church — baptism,  wedding  and  burial,  gossip  and 
courtship,  friendship  and  intrigue — all  lie  in  these  walls.  What 
wonder  that  this  central  club  house  tends  to  become  more  and 
more  luxuriously  furnished,  costly  in  appointment  and  easy  of 
access,"  25  and  again,  "The  Negro  Church  of  today  is  the  social 
centre  of  Negro  life  in  the  United  States,  and  the  most  charac 
teristic  expression  of  African  character."  2G  Booker  Washing- 


25.  The   Philadelphia   Negro,  W.   E.   B.    Du   Bois,   p.   205. 

26.  The  Souls  of  Black  Folk,  W.  E.  B.  Du  Bois,  p.  193. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  125 

ton  said :  "It  is  the  core,  the  heart,  the  centre  of  organization 
in  our  social  affairs  and  under  the  wing  of  the  Church  social 
life  is  apt  to  be  more  refined  and  wholesome  than  under  any 
other  auspices."  27  There  is  reason  now  for  the  Negroes  to 
give  themselves  pause  concerning  the  over-development  of  the 
social  features.  The  fundamental  purpose  of  a  church  as  a  house 
of  worship  and  a  place  for  Christian  instruction  and  fellowship 
is  sometimes  almost  lost  sight  of  in  this  social  age  and  it  is  per 
haps  undeniable  that  among  the  Negroes,  "the  numerous  church 
socials,  the  multitudinous  societies,  the  prominence  given  to  cer 
tain  rites  and  ceremonies,  fill  the  life  of  the  average  church 
member  to  a  dangerous  extent."  28  Of  late,  the  better  educated 
ministers  are  insisting  that  the  churches  be  used  for  strictly  re 
ligious  purposes  and  committees  of  censorship  pass  on  the  at 
tractions  offered,  and  in  one  instance  at  least,  which  came  within 
our  knowledge,  cut  short  an  entertainment  that  did  not  live  up 
to  its  advertising.  It  is  needless  to  show  further  that  this  dif 
ference  in  the  conception  of  the  uses  of  a  church  building  must 
have  been  one  of  the  factors  which,  of  necessity,  led  to  a  separa 
tion  soon  after  the  war,  when  the  differences  of  opinion  between 
the  races  were  more  pronounced  than  at  present. 

The  accessions  to  these  churches  were  very  rapid.  The 
preaching  was  of  a  type  calculated  to  add  numbers  rather  than  to 
carry  deep  convictions.  The  church  became  a  central  bureau  of 
information  and  matters  were  frequently  discussed  into  the  "wee 
sma'  "  hours  of  the  morning.  Very  frequently  politicians  would 
ingratiate  themselves  with  the  Negro  preacher  and  the  Negro 
vote  would  be  deflected  at  his  will.  In  certain  precincts  so  much 
money  would  be  paid  for  so  many  votes  and  the  preacher  was 
forced  to  deliver  them  or  lose  his  reward.  The  crime  of  voting 
with  the  former  masters  was  considered  so  reprehensible  as  to 
cause  some  good  old  colored  men  to  lose  caste  with  their  fel 
lows  and  to  endanger  their  church  membership.  How  strong  the 
influence  of  the  preachers  was  before  the  Constitutional  Conven 
tion  of  1901-'02,  is  represented  by  some  interesting  facts  con 
cerning  an  election  for  State  Senators  from  the  city  of  Rich- 


27.  Missionary  Review   of  the   World,   27:835. 

28.  Negro  Life  in  the  South,  W.   D.  Weatherford,   p.   145. 


126  REUGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE    NEGRO 

mond.  Gen.  Bradley  T.  Johnson  and  William  E.  Tanner,  Esq., 
were  Democratic  candidates  and  no  Republican  candidates  were 
named.  Just  before  the  election  Messrs.  Knight  and  Starke 
came  out  as  independent  candidates  and  were  evidently  depend 
ent  upon  the  Negro  vote.  Gen.  Johnson  had  organized  several 
strong  "Johnson"  clubs  among  the  Negroes  and  had  their  vote 
pledged,  but  he  was  doomed  to  disappointment.  On  the  Sunday 
night  before  the  election  every  Negro  pastor  in  town  stated  that 
the  Negroes  were  expected  to  vote  for  Knight  and  Starke,  and 
in  the  evidence  turned  in  at  a  contested  election  inquiry,  it  was 
found  that  not  a  single  Negro  vote  had  been  cast  for  the  Demo 
cratic  candidates.  At  one  precinct  where  Johnson  had  eighty- 
five  pledged  voters,  each  one  of  them  when  examined  as  wit 
nesses  testified  that  his  vote  was  cast  for  Knight  and  Starke. 
Johnson  and  Tanner  won,  however,  without  the  Negro  vote.29 
Similar  incidents  could  be  enumerated  but  the  influence  of  the 
Negro  churches  on  the  political  situation  is  too  well-known  to 
need  further  elaboration.  A  very  ingenious  view-point  con 
cerning  religion  and  politics  was  suggested  by  Lewis  H.  Blair 
about  1889  who  claimed  that  the  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
Negroes  had  no  desire  to  vote  because  they  were  so  other 
worldly  or  spiritualized  as  to  think  that  Heaven  was  their  home, 
hence  they  did  not  disturb  themselves  over  conditions  here ;  while 
the  Virginia  Negroes,  under  the  influence  of  Mahone,  had  been 
urged  to  cast  their  ballots  and  take  an  active  part  in  the  world's 
present  happenings.30 

A  later  development  has  proved  that  in  the  event  of  very  close 
elections,  both  sides  in  a  bitter  contest  will  bid  for  the  Negro 
vote.  It  is  not  a  secret  that  the  votes  of  the  Negroes  are  es 
pecially  valued  in  "wet"  and  "dry"  elections.31  We  have  been 


29.  See  History  of  Virginia  State  Debt  Controversy,  Wm.  L.  Roy- 
all,   pp.   38-'9. 

30.  The  Prosperity  of  the  South  Dependent  upon  the  Elevation  of 
the  Negro.     Lewis  H.  Blair,  p.  73  ff. 

31.  While   in    Slavery   the    Negroes   were   protected   from   the    evils 
of  intemperance  by  legislation  and  by  their  masters — except  at  Christ 
mas.     Temperance    Committees   brought    in    strong   reports    certainly 
as  early  as  1870  in  the  A.  M.  E.  and  Baptist  Conventions.     See  Afri 
can  Methodism  in  Virginia,  J.  L  Butt,  p.  43;  Baptist  Convention  Min 
utes  of  1871,  p.  20. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   op   ^H^    NEGRO  127 


assured  that  one  election  which  hinged  on  these  votes  was  turned 
to  the  victorious  side  because  prominent  Negroes  were  not  taken 
into  pre-election  caucuses  held  by  leaders  on  the  losing  side.  At 
Norfolk,  in  the  November,  1913,  elections,  it  was  well  known  that 
the  unprecedented  switching  of  the  Huntersville  Negro  vote  from 
the  machine,  or  "Ring,"  to  the  good  government  forces,  or  Cit 
izens  Party,  was  almost  entirely  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  a 
very  remarkable  and  prominent  Negro  preacher,  Rev.  C.  S. 
Morris.32  Fortunately,  the  influence  of  ignorant  Negro  preach 
ers  in  political  situations  where  they  could  issue  fiats  and  have 
them  heedlessly  obeyed  was  curtailed  by  the  Constitutional  Con 
vention  of  1901  -'02,  but  no  check  ever  will  be  placed  upon  an 
intelligent,  large-hearted  Negro  religious  leader  who  wisely  coun 
sels  the  educated,  best  elements  of  his  race.  The  Negro  preacher 
is  still  a  political  leader  but  he  is  a  saner,  wiser  leader  than  the 
men  of  the  seventies  and  eighties  because  he  is  as  a  man  usually 
saner  and  wiser  and  better  than  the  man  of  that  day.  He  is  no 
longer  entrusted  with  such  unlimited  privileges  as  formerly,  but 
he  is  more  honored  by  being  a  leader  of  the  worthy  men  of  his 
race  who  think  and  know,  than  he  ever  was,  who  blind  himself, 
led  voters  blind  and  bigoted  and  ignorant. 

The  Negro  Church  is  a  highly  complex  organization.  There 
are  many  societies  in  each,  and  the  General  Convention  reports 
show  not  only  the  multiplicity  of  interests  but  the  zeal  in  for 
warding  the  same.  The  Minutes  of  every  session  of  the  General 
Conventions  of  the  African  Baptist  Churches  and  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Churches,  with  the  exception  of  the  first 
three  of  the  Baptist  Churches,  are  on  my  desk,  and  the  excellent 
sentiments  and  high  motives  there  exhibited  would  be  a  matter 
of  pride  to  all  Virginians  were  they  well  known.  It  is  insane 
to  doubt  the  ability  of  many  of  the  men  who  were  leading  factors 
in  these  organizations.  That  many  bad  men  were  sometimes 
prominent,  no  one  can  doubt  who  reads  these  Minutes,  but  the 
general  average  of  the  intelligence  of  the  leaders  and  their  gen 
eral  worthy  lives  are  causes  of  very  favorable  comment.  Not 
only  were  missionaries  paid  by  the  Negroes  to  work  in  this  State 
but  others  were  paid  who  went  to  Africa.  Temperance  com- 


32.  The  Norfolk  Landmark  and  Virginian-Pilot.   Nov.  5,  1913. 


128  REUGIOUS   DEVELOP  ME)  NT   OF   THE    NEGRO 

mittees,  Sunday-school  committees,  Home  Mission  and  Foreign 
Mission  committees  and  many  others  prove  that  the  organiza 
tions  were  quite  intricate.  We  shall  enumerate  only  a  few  of 
the  societies  reported  and  taken  into  the  membership  of  one  of 
the  State  Conventions :  Sisters  of  Charity,  Young  Sons  of  Lib 
erty,  Loving  Sisters  of  Worship,  Zion  Travellers,  Phoenix, 
Young  Sisters  of  Love  and  Consolation,  Sisters  of  Temperance, 
Daughters  of  Zion,  Loving  Daughters  of  Gethsemane,  Sisters  of 
Esther,  Female  Soldiers  of  the  Cross,  Female  Star  of  Jacob, 
United  Daughters  of  Ham,  Loving  Sisters  of  the  Morning  Star, 
Daughters  of  Useful  Society,  Young  Rising  Daughters  of  Golden 
Rule,  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Moses,  Rising  Daughters  of  Je 
rusalem,  Sisters  of  Canaan  and  Aged  Sisters  of  Honor.  All  of 
these  were  religious  benevolent  societies  and  were  very  important 
factors  in  their  Church.  At  this  present  day  the  fraternal  or 
ganizations  are  rapidly  coming  to  the  fore.  It  behooves  the 
benevolent  religious  societies  to  look  carefully  to  their  laurels. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  competition  for  supremacy  in 
controlling  the  social  life  of  the  Negro  is  becoming  keener  and 
keener  because  of  the  multiplication  of  worthy  organizations  out 
side  of  the  church.  The  church  is  safe  for  the  present  but  must 
build  for  the  future  to  hold  its  young  people.  The  bitter  ex 
periences  of  a  few  years  ago  when  a  prominent  Negro  fraternal 
organization  became  insolvent  have  sobered  the  Negroes  on  this 
subject,  however,  and  they  are  now  demanding  better  financial 
management  and  firmer  moral  security  than  formerly. 

A  Negro  is  a  joiner  of  the  first  degree;  he  is  "jining"  some 
thing  from  his  early  days  until  his  latest.  This  propensity  could 
be  turned  to  good  account.  No  one  doubts  the  value  of  the  Ne 
gro  under  proper,  strict  discipline.  The  meritorious  services 
rendered  by  Negro  soldiers  in  various  wars  would  forever  dis 
prove  any  aspersions  cast  upon  their  ability  while  under  strict 
leadership.33  It  will  be  the  problem  of  today  and  tomorrow  to 
provide  the  discipline  that  will  harness  his  religious  emotionalism 
and  get  work  done  with  the  power  that  is  now  wasted. 

There  is  one  fundamental  consideration  which  must  precede 
every  discussion  of  the  Negro,  and  that  is  a  recognition  of  the 


33.  The  American  Negro:   His   Past  and  Future.     P.   B.   Barringer. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  129 

fact  that  Negroes,  like  women  as  defined  by  the  Irishman,  are 
all  alike  in  that  all  are  different.  An  educated  German  of  our 
acquaintance  expressed  surprise  on  his  first  trip  to  America  that 
we  were  able  to  distinguish  individuals  of  the  Negro  race.  Even 
in  the  North  we  have  heard  learned  men  express  surprise  that 
the  Negroes  of  Virginia  should  differ  from  the  Negroes  of 
Georgia  or  South  Carolina  or  anywhere  else.  It  would  be  im 
possible  for  a  real  observer  to  fail  to  recognize  a  difference  in 
the  personalities  of  individuals,  and  further,  the  aggregate  dif 
ference  in  personalities  of  the  individuals  of  one  State  as  com 
pared  with  those  of  another.  These  differences  exist.  Even 
the  Negro  recognizes  them.34  We  have  stated  in  a  previous 
chapter  the  processes  of  selection  which  might  account  in  part 
for  many  of  the  general  excellencies  of  the  Virginia  Negro. 
Many,  however,  can  see  few  or  no  excellencies  in  any  Negroes. 
Dr.  AY.  H.  Ru finer,  Superintendent  of  the  Public  School  of  Vir 
ginia  for  1874,  said :  "The  Southern  Negroes  are  polite,  amia 
ble,  quiet,  orderly  and  religious ;  and  hence  it  is  hard  to  believe 
that  as  a  class  they  are  without  character.  And  yet  such  is  the 
unhappy  fact.  .  .  .  And  whilst  families  and  congregations 
which  have  enjoyed  special  privileges  exhibit  better  results,  yet 
with  the  masses  of  those  who  claim  to  be  Christians,  their  piety 
is  of  an  unintelligent,  sometimes  superstitious,  and  always  spas 
modic  type,  and  it  covers  a  multitude  of  sins."  35  Dr.  P.  B. 
Barringer  says :  "A  young  savage  by  instinct,  he  naturally  takes 
as  his  ideal  the  swaggering  bully  of  his  own  color.  He  gradu 
ally,  by  theft  and  effort,  gets  up  an  equipment — no  longer  the 
bow,  club  and  spear  of  his  forefathers — but  now  a  cheap  pistol, 
a  pair  of  'knucks'  and  a  razor.  He  goes  to  his  first  'festerval* 
and  the  'progress  of  the  rake'  is  henceforth  fast.  Some  night 


34.  Richmond   Times-Dispatch,  Aug.  28,  1904:     "The  chief  theme  of 
discussion   yesterday   by   the   colored   Sunday-School   workers   of   the 
Virginia  Baptist  State  Convention  (Negro)  in  session  here,  was  class 
distinction   among  their  own  race.     Rev.   Paul   Pollard   of   Richmond 
read   a   paper   on   'Caste   in    Our   Own    Churches.'     The   subject   was 
discussed  at  length,  the  gist  being  that  a  class  line  should  be  drawn 
between   those  colored  people  who  had  raised  themselves  above  the 
ordinary  level  and  those  who  still  remained  on  the  same  low  plain." 

35.  Christianity,   Islam  and  the   Negro  Race,   E.  W.   Blyden,  p.  40. 

—9 


130  RKLIlilOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    TlllC    NHT.RO 

at  a  carousal  he  uses  his  ever  handy  weapon  and  rlees,  carrying 
with  him  everything  of  his  parents'  that  he  can  steal.  .  .  .  l>y 
the  time  he  is  even  fully  grown,  he  is  far  from  home  and  has 
almost  forgotten  the  parents  that  gave  him  birth  ;  he  is  a  liar, 
a  thief  and  a  rake ;  a  gambler  and  perhaps  a  murderer  or  high 
wayman.  He  fears  neither  God  nor  man,  and  when  an  oppor 
tunity  offers  is  ready  for  any  crime.  He  is  in  his  own  vernacu 
lar  'a  bad  man,'  and  for  once  he  does  not  lie."  :5(i  One  quotation 
from  a  Negro  writer,  Wm.  Hannibal  Thomas,  is  now  presented : 
"From  my  youth  I  have  had  an  intimate  knowledge  of  negro 
religionists,  and  have  learned  to  know  from  personal  experience 
the  shallowness  of  their  pretensions,  the  depravity  of  their 
morals,  the  ignorance  of  their  ministers,  the  bigotry  of  their 

leaders,  and  the  levity  of  their  faith I  have  found 

the  unlearned  bigoted,  the  learned  of  the  race  pompous ;  and 
all  of  every  sort,  pitifully  indifferent  to  the  welfare  and  uplifting 
of  men  and  women  sitting  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death."37 
Every  one  ,of  these  opinions  is  true  concerning  a  certain  class 
of  the  Negro  populace,  but  just  there  is  where  we  do  the  better 
elements  of  the  Negro  race  an  injustice.  Dr.  Ruffner  did  differen 
tiate  somewhat.  It  is  absurd  to  talk  about  Anglo-Saxons  being 
scientific  if  we  cannot  distinguish  between  the  doings  of  crim 
inals,  slum  Negroes  and  the  worthy  lives  lived  by  man}-  a  well- 
behaved,  aspiring,  educated  Negro. 

We  watched  the  Negro  workmen  at  the  end  of  a  day's  work 
leaving  the  great  Newport  News  Ship  Building  and  Dry  Dock 
plant;  we  stood  on  the  wharves  at  Norfolk  and  saw  the  long 
shoremen  at  their  daily  tasks;  we  heard  the  ringing  notes  of 
the  tobacco  Negroes  in  the  great  factories  at  our  State  capital ; 
we  have  talked  to  the  Negro  tilling  the  soil  of  this  Common 
wealth,  and  in  every  instance  there  was  a  difference.  The  dif 
ferences  were  not  so  great  between  those  at  the  different  tasks 
as  the  differences  between  those  at  the  same  tasks.  There  is 
great  hope  for  some ;  for  others,  the  words  of  an  untutored, 
burly,  Irish  machinist  at  Newport  News  are,  unfortunately  peril- 


36.  The   American   Negro:    His   Past   and   Future,   P.   B.   Barringer, 
p.   18. 

37.  The   American    Negro,   Wm.   Hannibal   Thomas,    Preface,   p.   21. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  131 

ously  near  true :  "An  ignorant,  illiterate  Negro  ain't  worth  a 
(1 — n  nowhere."  He  did  at  least  differentiate.  There  is  little 
wonder  that  the  Negro  is  driven  almost  to  desperation  by  the 
vicious  attacks  made  upon  the  race,  which  were  really  intended 
to  he  aimed  at  the  lowest  elements  in  their  race.  The  better 
Negroes  are  willing  to  agree  that  the  faults  of  their  weaker 
brothers  can  hardly  be  condoned,  but  the  sad  fact  remains  that 
we  sometimes  by  our  carelessness  indiscriminately  weaken  the 
hands  of  those  same  worthy  ones  who  are  laboring  under  the 
burden  of  racial  woes.  Differentiation  must  be  used ;  else  we 
should  refrain  from  calumny.  The  only  generalization  that  is 
at  all  fair  to  make  concerning  Negroes  as  a  race,  is  the  generali 
zation  that  we  should  not,  without  qualification,  generalize.  It 
would  seem  that  in  the  presence  of  so  many  types  of  Negroes 
no  person  could  fail  to  divide  the  Negroes  as  a  race  into  fewer 
classes  than  five : 

In  the  City. 

( 1 )  The  law-abiding,  educated,  aspiring  Negro. 

(2)  The  slum  Negro  with  surroundings  that  fit  him  for  crime. 

In  the  Country. 

(3)  The    industrious,    quiet,    hard-working    farmer    and    land 

owner. 

(4)  The  thriftless   "hand,"   without  ambition. 

In  Coal  Mines,  Saw  Mills,  Railroad  Camps,  etc. 
(  5 )   The  public  works  laborer  with  few  religious  advantages.38 

As  the  Anglo-Saxon  love  of  fair  play  is  brought  more  prom 
inently  to  our  attention,  we  shall  exercise  an  ever-increasing 
care  that  at  least  no  innocent  men  shall  suffer  in  the  place  of 
the  guilty. 

One  of  the  most  momentous  occurrences  in  the  life  of  a  Negro 
church  is  a  split.  Fortunate  indeed  is  that  church  which  has  not 
suffered  in  this  manner.  In  the  first  instance,  money  matters 
are  frequently  the  root  of  this  evil.  Careless  accounting  leads 
part  of  the  congregation  to  think  that  money  has  been  misap 
propriated  (frequently  it  has  been)  and  the  congregation  is  rent 


38.    The    Southern   Workman.   July,   1907,   p.   390.     Also   "The    First 
Century   of   the    First    Baptist    Church,"    p.    264    ff. 


132  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

in  twain.  It  is  regrettable  that  preachers  have  so  often  been 
guilty  of  such  peculations.  Another  occasion  for  a  split  in  a 
Negro  church  is  the  immorality  of  the  shepherd  of  the  flock. 
In  spite  of  the  most  convincing  testimony,  part  of  the  congrega 
tion  will  sometimes  blindly  cling  to  their  pastor  and  refuse  to 
force  his  resignation.  The  more  moral  elements  among  the 
Negroes,  thoroughly  disgusted,  leave  the  old  congregation  and 
set  up  a  new  house  of  worship,  frequently  in  a  community  where 
one  well-conducted  church  would  have  been  sufficient  for  all  the 
religious  needs  of  such  a  community.  Another  reason  for  splits 
in  the  churches  is  to  be  found  in  the  personal  magnetism  of  cer 
tain  individuals.  A  young  man  is  told  by  some  of  the  brothers 
and  sisters  that  he  can  "put  up"  a  better  prayer  than  the  regular 
pastor,  or  can  preach  a  much  better  sermon.  He  chafes  because 
his  talents  are  not  more  quickly  recognized  and  with  a  small 
following  sets  up  his  tabernacle  at  a  little  distance  removed  from 
the  former  church  and  begins  his  work.  At  other  times  an  ill- 
equipped  preacher  will  "refuse  to  accept  his  resignation  when  it 
is  offered  to  him"  and  the  more  educated  members  will  cut  the 
Gordian  knot  by  setting  up  a  new  work  and  calling  a  new 
preacher  better  suited  to  their  attainments.  The  words  "old 
site"  and  "new  site"  generally  have  behind  them  a  history  of 
difficulties  in  the  churches  which  eventually  let  to  splits.  Even 
the  great  Virginia  Baptist  State  Convention  (Negro),  several 
years  ago,  split  into  two  parts  that  are  now  commonly  referred 
to  as  the  Association  and  the  Convention.  It  is  a  matter  of  en 
couragement  to  believe  that  this  breach  which  seems  to  have  been 
caused  by  personal  ambition  and  a  lack  of  cooperation,  will  soon 
be  closed  and  harmony  once  more  prevail  among  the  Negro 
Baptists  of  Virginia.  It  is  evident  that  independent  churches 
with  congregational  forms  of  government  are  far  more  suscep 
tible  to  such  breaches  than  are  the  churches  under  the  authority 
of  the  bishops  or  other  ecclesiastical  officers. 

An  interesting  remnant  of  slavery  was  preserved  in  the  Ne 
gro's  disregard  of  property  holding  as  being4  opposed  to  their 
religion.  During  slavery  the  blacks  were  not  encouraged  in  many 
instances  to  hold  property,  and  in  some  instances  they  were  pos 
itively  discouraged.  The  masters  had  endeavored  to  supply  all 
the  needful  wants  of  the  slaves.  The  Negro's  religion  was  of 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  132 

such  a  nature  that  his  yearnings  were  far  beyond  the  skies,  and 
since  they  did  not  have  wealth  it  became  very  easy  to  think  that 
those  who  did  were  endangering  their  chances  for  Heaven.  In 
a  very  instructive  investigation  conducted  by  C.  B.  Dyke  in  some 
of  the  Tidewater  cities  and  rural  districts,  he  found  that  the  at 
titude  of  the  great  majority  of  Negro  children  could  be  ex 
pressed,  "God  don't  leek  (like)  rick  folks."39  All  of  this  senti 
ment,  however,  is  rapidly  dying  out  under  the  teachings  of 
Hampton,  Tuskeegee,  and  other  prominent  institutions.  Booker 
Washington's  great  quadrivium,  "property,  economy,  education 
and  Christian  character"  expresses  the  latest  tendencies  of  Negro 
thought.  Many  believe  that  he  should  have  placed  Christian 
character  first  instead  of  last.  His  program  and  his  books  pre 
sent  economics  as  the  chief  means  to  the  end.  Religious  reform, 
it  would  seem,  is  to  be  effected  after  economic  stability  has  fur 
nished  a  racial  foundation.  It  is  to  be  sincerely  hoped  that  in 
these  rushing  times  "the  most  influential  organization  among 
Negroes,"  the  Negro  Church,  will  carefully  watch  its  wards  and 
make  impossible  a  subordination  of  character  to  economic  pros 
perity. 

No  one  can  doubt  the  prominent  place  of  finances  in  Negro 
church  life.  The  Negro  not  only  loves  the  Church  with  his  heart 
but  with  his  pocket-book.  In  the  past  no  sacrifice  was  too  great,, 
nay,  not  even  virtue  itself,  if  it  was  undergone  for  the  church. 
Rallies  and  special  collections  are  never  ceasing.  To  "lift  a  col 
lection"  well  is  considered  quite  an  attainment.  In  the  matter 
of  church  buildings  the  Negroes  equal,  if  they  do  not  surpass, 
the  whites.  Whereas  some  of  the  more  expensive  white  churches 
in  the  city  have  no  counterparts  among  the  blacks,  still  the  average 
Negro  church  in  the  country  has  a  good  building  and  is  as  well 
if  not  better  fitted  for  services  than  the  average  white  church 
situated  in  the  country.  To  have  accumulated  millions  of  dollars 
worth  of  property  and  spent  thousands  in  salaries  and  mission 
ary  enterprises,  required  a  spirit  of  generosity  rarely,  if  ever, 
equalled  by  any  people  in  the  same  financial  conditions.  This 
prominence  of  money  in  the  life  of  the  church  is  well  exhibited 


39.    Popular  Science   Monthly,   C.    B.   Dyke.   60:300-364. 


134  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

in  a  statement  of  the   functions  of  the  Negro  church  as  inter 
preted  by  Du  P>ois.     He  arranges  them  as  follows: 

"1.  The  raising  of  the  annual  budget. 

"2.  The  maintenance  of  membership. 

"3.  Social  intercourse  and  amusements. 

''4.  The  setting  of  moral  standards. 

"5.  Promotion  of  general  intelligence. 

<k6.  Efforts  for  social  betterment."4" 

There  is  much  to  deprecate  concerning  the  lives  of  so-called 
religious  Negroes.  \Yould  that  profession  and  performance 
could  be  brought  nearer  together.  From  the  very  first  of  this 
study  nearly  every  man's  comment  on  their  religious  pretensions 
have  re-echoed  the  word  "shallowness"  like  a  constantly  recurring 
refrain.  It  has  been  the  fortune,  or  misfortune,  of  some  people 
successfully  to  assume  the  virtue  of  godliness  even  if  they  had 
it  not,  but  the  Negro  is  rarely  allowed  to  begin  an  assumption. 
The  whites  do  that  by  postulating  something  very  close  to  hypoc 
risy  as  a  necessary  condition  of  every  religious  Negro's  life. 
That  such  a  hypothesis  is  radically  wrong  is  too  evident  to  need 
statement,  yet  we  tolerate  these  wrongs.  Much  of  the  Negro's 
religious  life  is  spent  in  feeling,  and  far  too  little  in  doing.  Many 
of  them  completely  exhaust  their  religion  in  feeling.  The  ethical 
aspect  of  religion  is  only  known  to  the  upper  tenth  at  present. 
Long,  repetitious  prayers,  shoutings,  'zortations,  church  attend 
ance  and  payment  of  dues,  mark  the  extent  of  the  influence  of 
religion  in  the  lives  of  a  great  many.  His  spirit  is  very  devout 
"so  far  as  this  signifies  a  passionate  religious  feeling  in  conira- 
distinction  to  sober  and  godly  conduct ;  as  an  abstract  hope  and 
naked  aspiration,  it  colors  his  whole  nature  as  much  as  his  most 
impetuous  appetites  do." 

The  divorcement  of  religion  and  morals  is  a  most  unfortunate 
condition  which  prevails  far  too  extensively.  Frequently  sins 
are  committed  during,  or  immediately  after,  a  religious  service. 
An  old  Negro  who  testified  in  meeting  that  he  had  cursed  some, 
had  stolen  some,  had  drunk  whiskey  some,  and  had  done  other 
things  some,  but  could  thank  God  that  he  had  never  lost  his 
religion,  is  fairly  characteristic  of  an  attitude  towards  the  rela- 


40.  The  Philadelphia  Negro,  W.   K.  B.  Du  Bois,  p.  202. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  135 

tionship  between  religion  and  morals  held  by  some  of  the  lowest 
and  most  depraved.  An  incident  of  particular  interest  is  noted 
by  Olmsted  which  shows  the  Negro's  implicit  trust  in  the  Bible 
and  further  demonstrates  that  the  Negro  can  at  least  cite  Scrip 
ture  for  his  purposes.  A  white  minister  was  endeavoring  to 
correct  a  slave  for  wrong-doing  when  the  following  dialogue 
ensued :  "Look  yeah,  massa,  don't  de  Scripture  say  dem  who 
b'lieves  an'  is  baptize'  shall  be  saved?" 

"Certainly,"  was  the  reply,  and  the  clergyman  went  on  to 
explain  the  passage  to  him,  but  the  slave  interrupted  him  again : 

"Jus'  you  tell  me  now,  massa,  don't  de  good  book  say  dese 
words:  'Dem  as  b'lives  and  is  baptize'  shall  be  saved'?" 

"Yes  but—" 

"Dat's  all  I  want  to  know,  sar,  now  wat's  de  use  of  talkin'  to 
me.  You  ain't  ago'n  to  make  me  b'lieve  what  de  blessed  Lord 
say  ain't  so,  not  if  you  tries  forever." 

The  lack  of  exalted  practical  ideas  and  worthy,  inspiring  ideals 
leaves  the  religion  of  the  Negro  woefully  weak.  Too  often  the 
popularity-loving  pastor  preaches  down  to  his  congregation.  A 
young  minister  with  excellent  training  and  a  fervent  spirit  starts 
out  to  proclaim  the  word  in  a  manner  in  keeping  with  his  educa 
tion  but  soon  finds  his  efforts  are  unappreciated  by  his  congrega 
tion  because  they  prefer  "whang-doodle"  and  "rousements"  to 
cold  religious  logic  and  ethical  teaching  concerning  sins.  A  very 
direct  application  of  the  Scriptures  to  prevalent  conditions  will 
almost  certainly  throw  a  damper  over  the  meeting.  Such  condi 
tions  have  come  within  our  knowledge  and  are  particularly  dis 
couraging  to  those  interested  in  the  racial  uplift.  A  white  man 
who  is  considered  religious  would  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a 
hundred  bear  at  least  an  excellent  moral  character,  but  to  say 
that  a  Negro  is  religious  means  nothing  without  knowledge  of 
the  individual.  In  other  words  he  "needs  to  be  taught  that  more 
of  the  religion  that  manifests  itself  in  his  happiness  in  prayer- 
meeting  should  be  made  practical  in  the  performance  of  his  daily 
tasks."  The  breach  between  profession  and  performance  is 
really  at  the  bottom  of  most  of  the  Negro's  religious  problems. 
It  is  a  pity  that  it  is  so.  A  people  who  are  intensely,  instinctively 
religious  as  are  the  Negroes,  stand  in  some  danger  of  disgusting 
the  educated  minority  of  their  race  with  things  religious  because 


136  RELIGIOUS    DIvVlCLOPMEXT    OF    TIIK    NKGRO 

of  the  prevalence  of  shadow  rather  than  substance,  of  profes 
sion  rather  than  performance,  of  emotional  externals  rather  than 
intelligent  ethics.  And  this  educated  minority  is  an  all  important 
factor  among  Negroes  since  it  furnishes  the  leaders  to  guide  their 
less  fortunate  brothers  out  of  the  wilderness.  None  of  the  brain 
iest  Negroes  claim  that  superstition  has  no  hold  on  their  race. 
They  merely  claim  that  it  has  no  hold  on  the  more  educated  part 
of  the  race,  and  they  further  maintain  that  it  grips  the  rest  of 
the  race  now  with  much  less  force  than  formerly.  It  is  not  to  be 
expected  that  superstition  would  relinquish  its  hold  very  easily. 
It  was  firmly  entrenched  in  the  Negro's  habits  of  thinking  and  a 
change  in  thought-life  is  part  of  a  long  process.  Of  course,  it 
is  an  insult  to  the  very  principles  of  the  Christian  religion  to  be 
a  Christian  and  at  the  same  time  be  a  believer  in  superstition. 
White  men  and  black  are  both  guilty  of  this,  however.  \Ye  whites 
dodge  about  too  frequently  like  cowards,  rather  than  begin  an 
enterprise  on  Friday  or  have  anything  to  do  with  the  number 
thirteen.  Have  we  rid  ourselves  of  superstition  yet?  The  Negro 
carries  his  rabbit's  foot,  crosses  his  fingers,  steps  with  his  right 
foot  first  over  the  door  sill,  believes  in  ghosts,  hoodoo's,  "con- 
jurs"  others  and  is  "conjured,"  etc.,  until  it  seems  that  he  forgets 
that  he  is  a  Christian  in  a  Christian  land.  The  mere  fact  that 
"conjur"  doctors  live  quite  prosperously  in  several  sections  of 
our  State  would  indicate  that  their  business  is  still  popular.  In 
Louisa  County  a  Negro  was  employed  to  fire  a  saw-mill  engine, 
and  in  spite  of  his  best  efforts  something  went  wrong  with  the 
boiler.  He  urged  his  employer  to  lend  him  $3.00  to  go  to  Spott- 
sylvania  County  and  get  a  "conjur"  doctor  to  give  him  profes 
sional  advice  as  to  the  trouble.  The  doctor  assured  him  that  the 
engine  was  certainly  tricked  and  nothing  could  be  done  until  the 
boiler  was  thoroughly  cleaned  out  and  a  mysterious  powder  in 
serted  before  fresh  water  was  poured  in.  Naturally  the  mill  ran 
well  at  first,  after  the  boiler  was  carefully  cleaned,  and  great  was 
the  joy  of  the  fireman,  but  his  elation  was  very  short-lived,  since 
the  mineral  deposits  in  the  water  caused  the  same  complications 
as  formerly.  Of  course  the  Negro  did  not  lose  faith  in  the  doc 
tor.  He  blamed  other  things.  Experience  does  not  teach  every 
body.  These  happenings  were  not  events  of  1713  or  1813,  but 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  137 

occurred  in  the  early  part  of  the  Twentieth  Century — in  the 
year  1913. 

The  superstitions  connected  with  inanimate  things,  however, 
are  not  nearly  so  important  as  those  connected  with  animate. 
The  former  are  more  numerous ;  the  latter  more  consequential. 
It  is  a  frightful  tragedy  for  one  Negro  to  trick  another.41 
The  white  man  can  hardly  comprehend  it.  The  manifestations 
are  so  distressing  that  the  afflicted  one  is  the  object  of  universal 
pity,  and  medical  science  is  baffled  to  minister  to  minds  diseased. 
The  lizard  is  very  frequently  thought  to  be  connected  with  a 
person  tricked  and  is  supposed  to  be  living  on  the  unfortunate's 
vitals.  Old  Dr.  Buckner,  a  preacher  and  physician  of  some  years 
ago,  had  a  "conjured"  Negro  patient  and  he  undoubtedly  saved 
her  life  by  using  his  hard  common  sense.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  Negroes  really  die  from  sheer  weakness  after  being  tricked 
unless  the  evil  force  is  removed  or  a  counter  spell  can  be  wrought. 
After  finding  a  lizard  the  good  doctor  put  it  in  a  box  and  con 
cealed  it  on  his  person.  He  commanded  that  a  wash-tub  be  half- 
filled  with  water  and  placed  in  front  of  the  patient  who  was 
given  a  strong  emetic.  When  the  vomiting  began,  the  doctor 
told  her  to  look  for  a  lizard  and  when  she  was  sickest  he  dropped 
the  lizard  into  the  tub.  The  sequel  found  his  patient  speedily 
convalescent.  As  valuable  as  human  life  is,  it  is  a  very  sad 
thought  to  think  that  no  inconsiderable  number  of  lives  are  sac 
rificed  every  year  because  of  such  base  superstitions.  It  is  high 
time  that  education  should  drive  out  this  type  of  mental  darkness. 

When  the  Negro  was  first  brought  to  America  he  was  so 
steeped  in  superstition,  and  the  process  of  teaching  his  simple 
mind  was  so  difficult  that  it  is  not  surprising  to  know  that  he 
clung  to  superstitions  even  while  grasping  after  spiritual  ideas. 
The  constant  efforts  of  missionaries  and  good  masters,  at  last, 
proved  efficacious  in  making  some  few  Christian  ideals  and  ideas 
clear.  It  was  a  Christian  veneer,  at  least.  After  being  in  Amer 
ica  nearly  three  hundred  years  the  Negro  is  now  thoroughly 
Christian  in  most  particulars  but  still  retains  some  of  the  heathen 
ish  ideas  adapted  to  the  new  religion.42  With  such  a  religious 


41.  The  Plantation  Negro  as  a   Freedman,   P.  A.   Bruce,   pp.   Ill- 
125. 

42.  The  Negro  Church,  p.  5. 


138  RELIGIOUS    DI-ViaOPMKXT    OF    THIv    XKGRO 

history  and  such  a  racial  history  the  great  majority  of  Negroes 
could  not  well  he  otherwise  than  spasmodic  and  emotional  in 
their  religions  lives. 

It  was  not  always  a  simple  matter  for  the  would-be  convert 
to  gain  admission  into  the  church.  Experiences  were  very  im 
portant  factors  and  these  were  weighed  very  carefully  before  the 
candidate  was  encouraged  to  think  that  he  could  enter  the  Ark 
of  Salvation.  These  experiences  were  supposed  to  be  soul  travels 
and  travails.  A  peep  at  old  Satan  was  almost  indispensable  as 
a  proof  of  genuine  experience,  and  fortunate  indeed  were  those 
who  heard  "sweet  moanin's"  or  were  "shuck"  over  Hell.  To 
the  present  day  these  conditions  prevail  in  some  localities.  Those 
who  are  having  these  soul  trials  are  called  "seekers."  The 
"seeker"  usually  takes  on  a  pitiful  look,  practically  stops  work, 
and  "mopes  about."  Great  interest  is  manifested  in  the  "seek 
ers"  as  they  are  the  possible  church  members.  There  is  rejoicing 
in  the  land  when  the  "seeker"  has  "come  through."  His  ex 
periences  are  recounted  with  the  greatest  interest  and  all  give 
strict  attention  to  such  a  narrative.  Whether  they '  found  their 
Jesus  in  the  church,  in  the  home,  or  as  a  little  Negro  of  our  ac 
quaintance  said,  in  the  hen-house,  makes  no  difference.  The 
great  item  is  whether  they  found  him  or  not. 

Have  you  seen  a  Negro  baptizing  in  the  country?  It  is  often 
a  spectacle.  The  procession  from  the  church  to  the  picturesque 
mill-pond  at  baptizing  times  is  well  known.  The  whole  con 
gregation  marches  two  abreast  and  often  the  candidates  wear 
white  caps.  Sometimes  a  few  are  hard  to  manage  in  the  water 
and  frequently  after  immersion  some  will  loudly  proclaim  that 
they  saw  their  Jesus.  In  the  cities,  pools  are  in  many  of  the 
churches  and  the  baptizing  takes  place  indoors.  Usually  the 
indoor  ceremony  is  orderly  and  quiet  and  reflects  great  credit 
upon  all  the  participants. 

It  has  never  come  within  the  experience  of  any  of  the  many 
persons  whom  we  have  conversed  with  concerning  the  religious 
practices  of  Negroes,  that  a  Negro  was  ever  known  to  be  so 
busy  that  he  was  not  able  to  stop  work  long  enough  to  shake 
hands  with  a  new  convert,  and  speak  some  words  of  encourage 
ment.  When  the  new  convert  has  "got  religion"  he  often  goes 
about  rocking  his  "body  and  chanting  these  or  similar  words : 


RKIJGIOUS    DKVKLOPMKXT    OF    THE    NEGRO  139 

*'I  am  redeemed.  I  am  redeemed.  And  washed  in  Jesus  blood. 
I  took  my  feet  out  of  the  miry  clay  and  set  them  on  the  Rock 
of  Ages  where  the  wind  may  blow  and  the  storm  may  rise  and 
the  very  gates  of  Hell  will  not  prevail,  thank  God."  The  hand 
shake  is  inevitable.  The  Negro  delights  in  it.  No  color  line 
is  drawn  there ;  the  white  man,  of  slavery  days  especially,  shook 
hands  with  the  black  man  and  hoped  that  he  would  live  a  no 
bler  life.  The  black  man  believed  at  the  time  that  he  would, 
and  we  are  convinced  that  all  would  have  gone  well  if  the 
emotional  excitant  could  have  been  kept  ever  operative,  but 
alas,  we  face  facts,  and  not  theories.  The  emotionalism  which 
was  sustaining  for  a  season,  no  longer  stimulated  and  many 
believe  that  "the  last  state  of  that  man  is  worse  than  the  first." 
F.  G.  Ruffin  said :  "With  exceptions,  negroes  are  worse  in 
character  after  they  'profess  conversion'  than  they  were  before. 
It  is  dreadful  to  think  that  Christianity,  which  has  not  only  re 
deemed  but  civilized  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  that  can  claim 
to  be  civilized  in  any  high  sense,  should  be  an  injury  to  the 
negro ;  that  that  'Light  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world'  should  be  an  ignis  fat  mis  to  him."  4;i  Such  a 
radical  view  as  that  taken  by  Ruffin  is  certainly  not  representa 
tive  of  the  facts  in  the  case.  The  Negro  does  do  wrong  after 
conversion  (as  every  one  else  does),  but  he  is  a  malefactor 
not  because  of  his  religion,  but  in  spite  of  it.  He  knows  better 
in  almost  every  instance,  but  the  flesh  is  weak  and  the  tempta 
tions  strong.  Some  of  the  more  ignorant  may  consider  their 
profession  of  religion  a  mere  insurance  policy  to  keep  them 
out  of  Hell,  but  most  Negroes  now  think  far  differently.  The 
triumphs  of  the  faith  in  changing  the  bad  lives  of  many  Ne 
groes  into  better,  are  not  among  the  least  consequential  vic 
tories  won  by  Christianity. 

Can  we  expect  a  bitter  spring  to  give  forth  sweet  waters  ? 
"Do  men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles?"  Neither 
need  we  expect  the  Negro  race  to  make  any  rapid  moral  ad 
vances  until  their  domstic  life  has  been  improved.  One  of  the 
most  unfortunate  influences  of  slavery  was  the  failure  to  per- 


43.    The  Negro  as  a   Political  and  Social  Factor,   Frank   G.   Ruffin, 
p.   22. 


140  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

mit  a  full  realization  of  the  meaning  of  the  family  circle. 
Many  of  the  best  masters  and  mistresses  were  particular  that 
families  should  be  kept  together  and  these  were  taught  the 
principles  of  family  life,  but  many  others  paid  little  attention 
to  such  things.  As  a  rule  the  domestic  virtues  were  undevel 
oped  among  the  Negroes,  and  as  long  as  these  conditions  ex 
isted  or  do  exist  the  efforts  to  cut  down  the  excessive  immoral 
ity  will  prove  abortive.  It  is  very  noticable  that  the  slaves 
from  the  "quarters"  are  usually  morally  inferior  to  those  raised 
in  the  "great  house."  The  Negro  is  imitative  and  the  house 
servants  could  see  high  family  relationships  and  could  profit 
thereby ;  the  Negroes  at  the  "quarters"  experimented  among 
themselves.  The  Negro  masses  have  not  yet  learned  the  im 
portance  of  the  family  as  an  institution,  but  they  are  rapidly 
being  taught  these  lessons  of  higher  life  by  their  intelligent 
leaders.  The  painstaking  observer  will  not  fail  to  record  that 
there  are  many  new  names  added  each  year  to  the  list  of  those 
who  have  a  true  conception  of  home  life;  and  these  additions 
are  important  in  developing  the  family  life,  since  it  is  recog 
nized  that  "the  only  adequate  measure  of  social  efficiency  and 
the  only  ultimate  test  of  essential  race  progress  lies  in  the  ca 
pacity  to  create  the  home."  44  Few  whites  know  anything  about 
these  advances.  The  newspapers,  the  police  court  records,  the 
tales  of  the  idle  devote  much  space  and  time  to  flaunting  the 
criminal  side  of  this  race  before  the  world,  and  rarely  a  word 
is  found  of  encouragement  or  recognition  of  those  struggling, 
worthy  characters — home  builders — who  are  doing  their  best 
to  promote  family  ideals.  It  became  our  duty  in  writing  this 
monograph  to  visit  many  homes  of  Negroes,  and  it  was  a  rev 
elation  to  know  how  neat  and  orderly  were  the  appointments ; 
how  well-kept  were  the  surroundings ;  how  well-chosen  were 
the  books  in  the  libraries — of  the  better  classes.  The  homes 
of  the  slum  Negroes  show  a  corresponding  want  of  elevating 
factors.  Of  this  latter  class  the  summary  of  the  characteris 
tics  of  the  Negro  homes  in  America,  as  found  in  an  Atlanta 
University  Bulletin,45  is  frequently — not  always — true  without 


44.  The  Present   South,   E.   G.   Murphy,  pp.   166-168. 

45.  The   Negro   American    Family,    p.    48. 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF    THE    NEGRO  141 

qualifications:  "(I)  Lack  of  comfort;  (2)  Lack  of  hygienic 
customs;  (3)  Lack  of  thrift  economy;  (4)  Lack  of  a  father; 
(5)  Absence  of  a  mother."  Crowded  rooms,  poor  furniture, 
unsanitary  arrangements,  uncleanliness,  renting,  sub-letting, 
spending  recklessly,  surfeiting  today  and  starving  tomorrow, 
sexual  promiscuity,  illegitimacy,  harsh  treatment,  undue  pun 
ishments,  services  of  mother  tired  out  at  night,  and  a  conse 
quent  lack  of  maternal  influence,  make  up  an  array  of  obsta 
cles  which  would  be  destructive  of  any  white  home,  much  less 
the  home  of  the  blacks.  It  is  distressing,  too,  to  know  that 
often  the  white  vice  districts  are  located  in  the  heart  of  the 
Negro  residential  sections.  In  Norfolk  a  block  of  twelve  such 
white  houses  are  found  in  the  same  square  in  which  fifty  Ne- 
gfo  homes  are  situated.  Occasionally  lilies  grow  out  of  dung 
heaps,  but  not  often.  The  only  thing  that  saves  this  people  is 
their  optimism,  and  their  failure  to  comprehend  their  misfor 
tunes.  We  ourselves  cannot  realize  their  condition ;  if  they 
did,  there  would  be  more  suicides.  These  low  class  homes 
must  drag  down  the  average  until  the  better  Negroes  and  the 
better  whites  combine  their  energies  to  solve  the  problem,  for 
as  Bishop  Haygood  has  said:  "Without  true  religion  the  pure  * 
home  life  is  as  impossible  to  the  Negro  as  it  is  to  the  white 
man ;  without  pure  home  life  Christian  civilization  is  incon 
ceivable."  And  most  of  this  problem  of  home  life  rests  with 
the  warm-blooded  women  of  the  race.  The  white  man  of 
slavery  days  too  frequently  plunged  himself  and  his  female 
slaves  into  an  abyss  of  shame,  but  a  change  has  come  since 
Reconstruction.415  No  self-respecting  white  man  dare  commit 
such  a  crime  now  without  losing  caste  with  his  fellows.  The 
Negro  race  has  its  chance  to  develop  womanhood  capable  of 
conserving  racial  progress.  Without  such  pure  women  the 
task  of  elevating  the  race  is  hopeless. 

We  are  looking  through  a  window  in  our  University  room. 
A  row  of  plain  brown  houses  can  be  seen  built  on  the  side  of 
a  hill.  There  appears  to  be  no  more  difference  in  their  style 
of  architecture  than  one  sees  in  the  tombstones  that  mark  the 
graves  of  privates  buried  in  a  U.  S.  National  Cemetery.  The 


46.    The   Plantation  Negro  as  a   Freedman,  P.  A.   Bruce,  pp.  53-55. 


142  RKUGlOrS    DKVKLOPMKNT    OK    Till-     NKi'.KO 

street  is  muddy,  no  trees  are  near,  and  all  things  conspire  to 
give  one  a  feeling  that  those  houses  represent  temporary  habi 
tations  and  not  the  permanency  of  homes.  The  idea  of 
transiency  is  especially  abhorrent  to  home  builders.  Of  course, 
the  house  and  surroundings  do  not  make  a  home,  yet  they 
help.  Pride  in  the  upkeep  of  their  dwellings  can  be  inculcated 
in  the  Negro  race  only  as  they  are  urged  to  own  property  and 
are  taught  that  every  cent  paid  in  beautifying  the  environs  en 
hances  the  value  of  their  own  possession.  It  must  be  said  to 
the  shame  of  the  white  race  that  too  frequently  fortunes  have 
been  amassed  by  our  business  men  who  erected  cheap,  unat 
tractive,  uncomfortable  houses  to  rent  to  Negroes,  which  yield 
a  big  percentage  on  the  investment,  yet  rob  the  blacks  of  a  fair 
start  in  life  for  their  children.  Albums  of  photographs  could 
be  presented  to  prove  the  unattractiveness  of  such  places,  but 
the  mention  of  one  will  suffice.  After  leaving  Alexandria,  Va., 
and  when  nearing  Washington,  D.  C.,  there  is  a  brick  kiln  on 
the  left  side  of  the  Southern  Railway  tracks,  not  far  from  the 
kiln  are  stables,  and  not  far  from  the  stables  are  houses.  One 
look  at  these  miserable  houses  and  their  back  yards  will  give 
more  light  upon  the  moral  destitution  of  a  certain  class  of  Ne 
groes  than  tons  of  print.  It  may  be  possible  for  men  and 
women  to  be  very  godly  in  such  surroundings,  but  if  they  can 
be  so  there,  in  a  better  environment  they  could  be  angelic.  He 
redity  is  powerful,  but  environment  is,  too.  Both  are  too  fre 
quently  against  the  Negro  child's  chances  for  a  successful 
moral  life. 

Closely  connected  with  this  problem  of  the  cultivation  of 
home  instincts  is  the  question  of  furnishing  proper  amusements 
for  Negroes.  The  age  of  monasticism  has  gone,  and  dying  em 
bers  of  a  blue-dyed  Puritanism  lie  smouldering  on  the  hearth, 
giving  forth  smoke  but  no  warmth  or  light.  The  amusements 
of  Negroes  must  be  interpreted  in  a  broad-minded  way,  or  the 
Negro  Church  will  face  either  the  problem  of  driving  the  young 
from  its  doors,  or  that  of  sheltering  hypocrites.  Neither  alter 
native  will  be  necessary,  if  intelligent  leaders  will  step  to  the 
fore  and  guide  the  Negroes  in  this  important  crisis.  Kinder 
garten  teachers  tell  us  that  playing  does  not  come  natural  to 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  143 

all  children ;  some  have  to  be  taught  how  to  play.  Ignorance 
concerning  this  matter  is  naturally  greatest  among  the  Negroes, 
and  to  this  race  of  greatest  need  efforts  have  recently  been 
directed.  In  Louisville,  Ky.,  Rev.  John  Little  has  been  con 
ducting  a  playground  for  Negroes  with  great  success,  and  in 
our  own  State,  Mr.  W.  M.  Gray,  of  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  has  been  conducting  a  very  successful  one  in  Rich 
mond.  Lessons  of  cleanliness,  hopefulness  and  strength  can 
be  inculcated  here  when  they  would  not  be  tolerated  elsewhere. 
Athletics  is  practically  a  new  word  in  a  Negro's  vocabulary 
and  the  sooner  it  becomes  a  fixture  the  better  for  the  race. 
Heretofore  we  have  assumed  that  a  Negro  child  could  get  its 
exercise  by  working  or  by  running  from  the  "cops."  At  the 
present,  we  are  improving  their  morals  by  means  of  an  interest 
in  athletics.  It  is  the  common  experience  of  those  who  con 
duct  such  playgrounds  that  morals  are  vastly  improved  by 
them  and  many  of  the  children  who  come  to  play,  in  later  years 
remain  to  pray. 

As  long  as  some  of  the  Negro  churches  failed  to  recognize 
the  difference  between  dancing  and  theft,  worldliness  and  un- 
chastity,  and  others  considered  dancing  worse  than  lying  and 
playing  the  fiddle  worse  than  adultery,  the  whole  question  of 
amusements  remained  very  acute.  The  same  penalties  have 
been  known  to  be  inflicted  for  each  of  the  "sins"  enumerated 
above.  Theater  attendance  is  also  blacklisted,  and  too  frequently 
those  guilty  of  lying  or  rum-drinking  sit  in  council  to  try  the 
offenders.  Dance  halls,  cheap  vaudeville,  pool-rooms,  eating 
houses  and  groggeries,  with  an  occasional  merry-go-round  or 
"movie,"  make  up  the  biggest  part  of  the  list  of  amusements 
of  the  Xegroes.  In  some  of  the  smaller  towns  not  even  one 
single  amusement  device  or  playground  for  Negroes  is  to  be 
found,  and  the  streets  or  churches  have  to  endeavor  to  supply 
this  craving  for  fun.  Real  games  are  a  necessity,  especially 
for  the  young  of  the  slums,  and  in  lieu  of  diversions,  the  sins 
which  are  the  accompaniments  of  idleness  arise  to  destroy.  In 
one  of  the  Tidewater  cities  of  Virginia,  the  colored  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
secretary  found  many  of  the  boys  practicing  secret  vice  simply 
because  they  had  nothing  to  do  and  no  one  had  told  them  bet- 


144  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO 

ter.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  with  its  baths,  play-rooms,  athletic  con 
tests,  and  study  classes,  is  doing  much  to  fill  a  long  felt  void 
in  the  lives  of  the  Negro  youths  of  Virginia,  but  a  multiplica 
tion  of  all  these  forces  which  make  for  better  amusements  is 
now  imperative.  What  will  we  do  about  it?  At  least,  we  re 
alize  our  duties  better  when  we  recognize  the  fact  that  whole 
some  sport  is  the  inveterate  foe  of  sin. 

In  the  facts  which  we  have  presented  above,  there  seems 
much  that  would  incline  the  pessimist  to  be  convinced  that  no 
good  is  in  the  Negro  and  hence  no  good  can  come  out  of  him. 
The  crimes  which  they  commit,  the  shallowness  of  the  lives  of 
so  many,  the  divorcement  of  religion  and  morals,  the  emotion 
alism,  their  self-sufficiency,  and  many  other  things,  would  in 
cline  us  naturally  to  that  belief  but  for  the  presence  of  many 
matters  of  hope.  Among  these  factors  the  prevalence  of  op 
timism  is  perhaps  the  most  important.  The  Negro  race  has 
convinced  itself,  at  least,  that  there  is  good  in  it  and  along  that 
line  its  conduct  is  now  shaped.  No  man  can  say  what  the  at 
tainments  of  the  race  may  be  if  this  optimistic  spirit  continues. 
Virginia  Negroes  are  much  blessed  in  their  leaders.  The  of 
ficers  of  the  Negro  Organization  Society  are  able  people  and 
the  inspiration  which  this  clearing  house  of  Negro  progress 
sends  out  is  met  with  enthusiasm  by  those  to  whom  it  is  sent. 
Members  of  the  race  are  constantly  repeating :  "We  are  ris 
ing."  Without  optimism  they  could  do  little. 

Another  matter  of  hope  is  the  reverent  attitude  assumed  by 
practically  all  Negroes  toward  the  church. f  The  Negro  is  not 
a  scoffer.  He  may  be  very  mistaken  in  his  religious  ideals, 
yet  he  is  very  true  in  his  faithfulness  to  the  church.  The  per 
centage  of  Negroes  who  take  some  part  in  their  worship  should 
cause  some  of  the  white  race  to  hide  their  heads  in  shame. 
Even  if  the  Negro  has  only  one  talent,  he  generously  uses  that 
one  to  the  best  advantage  that  he  can.  With  nearly  fifty  per 
cent  of  the  Negroes  of  Virginia  members  or  communicants  of 
churches,  and  with  a  large  percentage  of  the  others  attending 
church  services  with  some  degree  of  regularity,  there  is  a  splen 
did  opportunity  for  strong  leaders  to  get  hold  of  the  people 
and  institute  reforms. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  145 

Still  another  matter  of  hope  is  the  diffusion  of  education 
among  Negroes.47  Their  schools  are  meeting  admirably  the 
problems  presented  and  are  only  handicapped  by  a  lack  of 
means.  The  educated  Negro  minister,  teacher,  and  business 
man  are  rapidly  coming  to  the  forefront  and  are  giving  the 
race  the  leadership  which  it  so  badly  needed  soon  after  emanci 
pation.  An  educated  Negro  who  prejudices  his  brothers 
against  the  white  citizens  of  this  State  is  rare  now  and  will 
probably  become  even  more  rare  in  future.  Ignorance  was  the 
cause  of  many  mistakes  made  by  the  Negro ;  education  will  be 
his  salvation.  Not  only  are  better  leaders  at  the  head  of  the 
race,  but  better  men  are  following.  The  old  men  are  better- 
spirited  than  formerly,  and  even  that  emotionalism  which  is 
now  held  up  to  the  Negro  as  a  matter  of  derision,  is  fast  wan 
ing.  The  educated  minister  of  today  is  generally  a  man  of 
high  morals  and  his  impress  is  not  lost  on  the  masses. 

As  a  last  matter  of  hope  (there  are  many  others  which  might 
be  stated),  we  mention  the  interest  which  the  people  of  New 
Virginia  are  manifesting  in  the  Negro.  The  man  who  says 
that  the  whites  look  out  for  themselves,  and  should  therefore 
let  the  Negroes  look  out  for  their  own  interests,  merely  con 
fesses  by  his  attitude  how  far  he  is  behind  the  times.  We  can 
not  still  be  Christians  and  afford  to  let  the  Negroes  go  to  the 
bad  even  if  they  want  to  do  it.  Our  knowledge  should  be  their 
strength  and  their  weakness  our  opportunity.  If  we  are 
strong  spiritually,  then  we  should  play  the  Good  Samaritan  •  to 
this  unfortunate  race.  To  assume  a  "Holier  than  Thou"  atti 
tude  would  be  to  stifle  ourselves  by  our  own  hypocrisy.  We 
could  hardly  live,  and  certainly  could  not  develop,  in  such  an 
atmosphere.  The  chance  to  convert  Africa  in  America  is 
here  4S  and  we  shall  not  withhold  our  wisdom  and  guidance. 
Dr.  P.  B.  Barringer  was  in  entire  accord  with  the  truest  re 
ligious  views  when  he  wrote :  "We  took  the  cannibal  and  made 
a  man  of  him,  and  we  did  it  because  our  grandfathers  and 


47.  The  Negro  Church,  p.  62. 

48.  The  White   Man's   Burden,   B.   F.   Riley,  p.   149. 


146  RKLIGlorS    DKVKLOl'MKNT    OF    TIIK    NKC.RO 

grandmothers  were  not  ashamed  to  give  themselves  to  his 
guidance.  There  are  in  the  South  today  the  same  people,  ar.d 
in  this  day  of  national  peril,  for  it  is  national,  as  hard  as  it 
will  be  at  first,  they  will  not  be  found  wanting."  4J) 

In  1696  the  Virginia  Burgesses  complained  of  the  difficulties 
incurred  in  teaching  the  Negroes  newly  imported,  and  at  pres 
ent,  unless  the  whites  disseminate  things  helpful  in  an  un 
grudging  manner,  we  may  eventually  have  to  face  cases  of 
reversion  to  original  type.  Since  slavery  days  the  time  has 
never  been  so  ripe  as  the  present  for  the  Negro  and  the  white 
man  to  do  constructive  work.  Dr.  Jas.  Dillard,  Director  of 
the  John  F.  Slater  and  the  Jeannes  funds  for  the  Christian 
education  of  Negroes,  has  his  headquarters  in  this  State  and 
is  a  living  incentive  to  other  able  men  to  give  thought  and  time 
to  this  element  of  our  composite  civilization.  The  existence  of 
clubs  among  white  college  students  to  study  the  Negro  prob 
lem,  further  proves  that  the  college  men  of  New  Virginia  will 
have  something  more  than  hearsay  evidence  to  guide  them  in 
passing  judgment  upon  the  merits  and  demerits  of  the  Negro 
race.  That  the  religious  development  of  the  Negro  is  a  re 
sponsibility  which  demands  the  most  earnest  and  careful  at 
tention  no  one  will  now  deny.  Mr.  D.  Hiden  Ramsey  has 
said:  "It  would  be  impossible  to  say  that  we  shall  do  nothing 
for  the  Negro  because  the  results  are  not  immediate.  In  our 
program  for  the  Negro  we  must  look  for  our  results  to  the 
future.  Patience,  slow  time,  sympathy,  and  discernment — 
these  must  be  trusted."  50 

The  Negro  judges  the  white  man  very  frequently  by  the 
ruffians  who  attack  him,  or  by  the  newspapers  that  libel  his 
race;  the  white  man  too  frequently  judges  the  Negro  only  by 
the  inferior  quality  of  work  done  by  servants.  Most  cases  of- 
dislike  that  we  have  investigated  showed  an  economic  basis. 
The  fact  that  our  cook  suddenly  leaves,  or  a  farm  hand  de- 


49.  The  American    Negro,   His   Past  and   Future,   P.    B.    Barringer, 
p.  14. 

50.  Lecture   under   auspices   of    Phelps-Stokes    Foundation    for    the 
study   of   Race    Conditions   in   the    South   at   University,    Va.,   Jan.   31, 
1914. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  147 

niands  higher  wages  or  even  refuses  to  work,  impels  •  us  to 
exclaim,  "How  we  hate  a  Nigger."  Does  not  this  position 
seem  a  bit  unjust?  Our  attitude  toward  this  race  is  too  im 
portant  to  be  dealt  with  in  anything  but  a  large,  fair-minded 
way.  Because  a  race  lives  on  its  own  properties  and  no  longer 
serves  us  in  the  same  capacities  as  formerly  are  no  just  reasons 
for  assuming  an  attitude  of  hostility  to  every  phase  of  that 
race's  existence.  However,  this  very  principle  of  dislike  is  at 
the  root  of  much  of  the  condemnation  of  the  modern  Negro. 


148  RELIGIOUS    DEYEXOPMKXT    OF    THE)    NEGRO 

1865—1913. 
(Continued.} 

In  the  state  of  Virginia  there  are  a  score  or  more  religious 
hoclies  to  which  the  Negroes  pay  allegience.  However,  of  the 
307,374  Negro  church  members  in  Virginia  the  Baptist  church 
contained  about  270,219,  or  88  per  cent  of  all  Negro  communi 
cants,  according  to  the  census  of  1906. l  The  Methodist  bodies 
followed  with  about  30,492  members  or  about  10  per  cent  of 
the  total,  and  the  remaining  bodies  follow  with  a  few  more 
than  6,000,  or  about  2  per  cent  of  the  total  Negro  membership. 
In  reality  the  great  Negro  faith  of  this  State  is  Baptist  and  its 
nearest  competitor  is  some  form  of  Methodism.  The  com 
bined  value  of  the  buildings  in  which  these  Virginia  Negro 
worshippers  gather  was  reported  to  be  $3,562,930  in  1906  with 
a  little  over  $300,000  debt,  and  the  total  value  of  such  prop 
erty  has  undoubtedly  increased  very  much  since  that  time.  Be 
tween  the  census  of  1890  and  the  religious  census  of  1906  the 
Negroes  gained  about  70,000  in  the  number  of  their  members 
and  nearly  doubled  the  value  of  their  church  property.2  Ad 
vances  have  been  made  and  are  being  made  so  rapidly  that 
books  can  hardly  be  issued  from  the  press  fast  enough  to  re 
cord  the  constantly  changing  phases  of  this  portion  of  the 
Negro's  life.  When  the  Decennial  Religious  Bodies  Census  of 
1916  is  taken,  and  its  contents  made  known,  the  part  played 
by  Virginia  Negroes  in  the  religious  life  of  the  race  will  be 
no  unworthy  one. 

The  first  eleven  ecclesiastical  bodies  in  Virginia  in  the  order 
of  their  Negro  members'  numerical  standing  in  1906  were : 
Baptist,  Methodist  Episcopal,  African  Methodist  Episcopal, 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion,  Reformed  Zion  Union 
Apostolic  (Colored),  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  Protestant  Episcopal,  Colored  Primitive  Baptists 


1.  United   States   Census.     Religious   Bodies   1900,   Part   I.   p.   562. 

2.  Statistics  of  Churches.     Eleventh   Census   1890,  p.  49. 


RELIGIOUS    DKVI-XOI'MEXT    OF    THE)    NEGRO  149 

in  America,  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Christians 
(Christian  Connection),  Disciples  of  Christ:  There  are  other 
bodies  that  are  doing  excellent  work,  but  they  have  made  no 
great  advances  in  the  church  life  of  Negroes.  The  doctrine  and 
policy  of  the  Negro  churches  correspond  very  closely  to  those 
of  the  white  churches.  It  is  indeed  difficult  to  understand  why 
some  of  the  churches  maintain  an  independent  existence  when 
they  might  do  better  work  united.  For  instance,  W.  L.  Flem 
ing  says  that  the  main  difference  between  the  A.  M.  E.  and  the 
A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church  according  to  a  Negro  member  of  the 
latter  was  that  in  one  the  dues  are  twenty-five  cents  a  week  and 
in  the  other  twenty.3  The  larger  Negro  eccesiastical  organiza 
tions  have  their  own  Church  papers,  official  organs,  and  these 
are  read  extensively.  In  the  Presbyterian  and  Episcopal 
churches  the  Negro  ministry  is  especially  well  prepared,  and 
also  in  the  Methodist  churches  the  influence  of  their  respective 
Bishops  generally  has  a  tendency  to  keep  the  men  on  their 
mettle,  but  the  educational  results  yet  attained  by  the  strictly 
Negro  churches  have  not  been  so  great  as  in  the  churches  un 
der  white  supervision.  Indeed  the  phenomena  seen  in  some 
of  the  Baptist  churches  are  practically  without  anything  like 
counterparts  in  the  Presbyterian  or  Episcopal  churches.  The 
church  strongest  in  numbers  ministers  primarily  to  the  masses, 
although  it  certainly  numbers  in  its  membership  some  of  the 
finest  of  our  Negroes,  while  some  of  the  smaller  churches  do 
effective  work  almost  entirely  for  the  higher  classes.  The 
classes  claim  that  there  is  too  much  emotionalism  in  the  Bap 
tist  and  Methodist  Churches ;  the  masses  claim  that  there  is  no 
"feelin'  "  and  too  many  "gittin'  up's  and  down's"  in  the  Epis 
copal  church.  Each  Negro  church  should  have  its  hands  full, 
and  no  one  church  has  time  for  jealousy  or  bickerings  while 
there  is  so  much  work  to  do. 

Unless  otherwise  specified  we  shall  write  of  the  popular  Bap 
tist  churches  since  some  of  the  others  exhibit  few  or  no  phe 
nomena  which  would  be  striking.  In  many  churches  among  the 
Negroes  we  have  worshipped  in  audiences  as  calm  and  orderly, 


3.  Civil  War   and    Reconstruction   in   Alabama,   W.   L.    Fleming,   p, 
649. 


150  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

and  outwardly  at  least,  as  unemotional  as  the  average  church 
among  the  white  people.  We  shall  not  dwell  upon  this  higher 
type  of  church  longer  than  to  express  the  wish  that  others 
would  go  and  do  likewise. 

The  church  buildings  in  which  the  Negroes  worship  are  usu 
ally  far  more  excellent  structures  than  one  not  acquainted  with 
their  liberality  would  imagine  that  they  could  erect.  Few  of 
them  fail  to  have  solid  benches  within,  stained  glass  windows, 
a  good  pulpit  and  pulpit  furniture,  an  organ,  and  book-cases  or 
chests  for  Sunday-School  supplies,  etc.  Frequently  the  same 
Negroes  who  live  in  squalid  hovels  worship  in  their  own  church 
palaces.  Their  ambition  too  frequently  has  been  to  build  fine 
churches  rather  than  good  characters.  A  desire  for  a  showy 
house  of  worship  and  a  big  attendance  have  been  factors  which 
lured  the  Negro  preachers  and  church  members  to  make  sac 
rifices  heretofore  unheard  of  in  America.  Scriptural  names 
are  generally  given  to  their  churches,  but  this  rule  by  no  means 
always  holds  true.  In  the  cities  the  larger  churches  are  gener 
ally  in  the  heart  of  the  black  belts  with  occasional  missions  or 
smaller  churches  on  the  outskirts.  In  the  country,  an  effort  is 
made  to  have  the  newly  built  churches  near  most  of  their  mem 
bers,  but  the  power  of  some  4'big"  member  occasionally  influ 
ences  the  location  of  the  site  at  some  distance  from  such  a  true 
center.  Most  Negro  churches  have  a  great  bell  to  call  worship 
pers  to  the  building,  and  most  churches  are  kept  scrupulously 
neat  and  clean.  Even  though  their  furnishings  are  often  showy 
and  cheap,  they  are  generally  the  best  that  the  members  can  af 
ford  at  the  particular  time ;  a  later  visit  would  probably  show 
an  improvement.  Old  fogyism  is  bitterly  attacked ;  the  effort 
is  to  keep  up  to  date. 

Sunday  is  a  busy  day  with  the  Negroes.  In  the  morning 
Sunday-school  is  in  session  first,  then  the  morning  preaching 
service.  A  few  of  the  Sunday-schools  are  doing  good  work, 
but  they  are  not  well  attended  by  the  older  people  and  their 
superintendents  and  teachers  need  the  supervision  of  special 
ists.  The  tremendous  advance  in  Bible  school  work  manifested 
by  the  whites  has  not  yet  found  a  similar  enthusiasm  among 
the  blacks.  Some  of  the  more  progressive  churches,  however, 
have  adopted  these  new  ideas  of  conducting  Sunday-school 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THK    NEGRO  151 

work  and  eventually  all  will  catch  up  with  the  procession. 
After  the  Sunday-school  session  the  regular  morning  preaching 
service  begins.  There  is  rarely  any  hurry  about  beginning 
promptly.  The  Negro  gets  enough  of  promptness  and  push 
during  the  week  from  his  white  employers.  Leisurely  the  serv 
ice  begins  and  more  leisurely  it  ends.  The  afternoon  is  gen 
erally  free  for  visiting  or  resting,  but  occasionally  society  meet 
ings  make  demands  even  on  this  brief  time.  Before  the  even 
ing  service,  the  B.  Y.  P.  U.'s,  Epworth  Leagues,  or  Christian 
Endeavor  societies  have  a  session,  and  then  comes  the  greatest 
service  of  the  day — the  evening  preaching  service. 

Many  of  the  people  who  are  employed  as  cooks  or  house 
maids — people  in  service — do  not  "get  off"  until  the  Sunday 
dinner  has  been  served  at  the  homes  of  their  white  employers, 
yet  even  this  much  time  in  the  afternoon  meant  some  relaxation 
and  some  preparation  for  the  evening  (night)  service  at  the 
church.  Very  naturally  with  so  many  released  from  their  daily 
tasks,  the  evening  service  is  the  largest  among  the  Negroes, 
while  it  is  usually  smaller  among  the  whites.  We  have  often 
attended  such  services  and  have  noticed  that  a  feeling  of  sup 
pressed  pleasure  seemed  to  mark  each  black  countenance.  It 
would  certainly  seem  that  enthusiasm  for  church  going  is  a  lost 
art  among  the  whites  when  compared  with  the  weekly  demon 
stration  by  the  blacks.  It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  in 
country  churches  evening  services  are  frequently  dispensed 
with  during  the  winter  because  of  bad  roads,  coldness,  etc.,  but 
this  is  made  up  for  by  the  great  attendance  at  the  protracted 
meeting  night  services  during  the  summer.  In  the  cities  with 
sidewalks  and  less  distance  to  travel  no  such  disparity  in  at 
tendance  with  respect  to  the  seasons  is  shown. 

In  the  cities  during  the  week  nights  or  days  there  are  prayer- 
meetings,  class  meetings,  Board  of  Officers'  meetings,  Pastor's 
Aid  Society  meetings  and  missionary  society  meetings.  Mar 
riages  and  funerals  also  interest  the  blacks  and  are  usually  well 
attended.  These  strictly  business  or  religious  sessions  are 
often  supplemented  by  social  affairs  and  the  result  is  that 
nearly  all  of  the  after  working  hours'  time  of  the  Negroes  is 
about  to  be  monopolized  by  the  church.  And,  indeed,  if  we 
take  into  account  the  prominent  place  taken  in  their  thought 


152  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

life  by  the  church  and  its  beliefs,  we  can  see  conditions  which 
remind  us  at  least  of  some  features  of  the  seventeenth  century 
in  Scotland  or  the  Middle  Ages  in  Europe.  It  would  be  pain 
ful  to  think  that  religious  services  were  not  congenial  to  a  peo 
ple  who  spend  such  a  considerable  portion  of  their  lives  as  the 
Negroes  do  in  attending  them. 

The   Negro   church   service   usually   begins    in   song   and   the 
prominence  given  music   is  perhaps   the  most  noteworthy    fea 
ture  of  their  services.     The  man  would  have  to  be  absolutely 
deaf  not  to  be  interested  in  the  weird,  almost  doleful  tunes  that 
the    Negroes    sing    with    such    pleasure.      There    is    something 
soothing  about  them.     Few  tasks  could  be  more  difficult  than 
that    of    writing    on    paper   just    how   their    old    time    melodies 
sound.     There  is  nothing  in  the  music  ordinarily  heard  by  the 
white  people   to   which   this   music  can   be   compared.      Minors 
are  brought  out  strongly  and  the  peculiarly  placed  accents  and 
rests  give  the  total  effect  of  something  between  a  chant  and  a 
funeral  dirge,  yet  the  music  has  other  wonderful  effects  that 
make   it   more   than   ravishing  to   the   Anglo-Saxon   ear.      The 
modern  hymns   show   few  effects  of   such  treatment   and   have 
few   features    worthy  of   remark,    but  when  a  "spiritual"    has 
been   begun    and  the   venerable   "uncles"   and   "aunts"    of   the 
long  ago  stir  in  their  seats  and  take  notice,  one  may  rest  as 
sured  that    he  has    not    heard    some  of   the  most    remarkable 
music  in  the  world,  if  he  has  missed  this.     The  choirs  sing — 
and  they  are  proud  of   their   choirs — each   individual   claiming 
that  his  own  church  has  the  best  music,  but  the  appeal   does 
not  come  through  them.     They  interest  the  black  worshippers, 
but  do  not   delight  them.     We  have   frequently  attended  their 
services  and  considered  the  singing  entirely  disappointing  until 
one  of  these  old  favorites  had  been  started  and  then  all  pre 
vious  misgivings  gave  away   in   the   presence   of   the   fact  that 
they  could  sing  if  they  would.     Many  Negroes  soon  after  the 
war  endeavored  to  discard  the  old  songs  because  they  consid 
ered  them  reminiscent  of  slavery,  but  such  a  tendency  should 
be  immediately  arrested  as  entirely  derogatory  to  the  race's  best 
interests.     Such  favorites  as  "Steal  Away,"  "Swing  Low  Sweet 
Chariot,"  and  "On  Jordan's  Stormy  Banks  I  Stand"  should  be 
immortal.      The   "spirituals"    are   predominant   among   the    Ne- 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  153 

gro's  greatest  assets,  and  it  would  be  a  national  tragedy  should 
they  be  forgotten  by  the  present  or  future  generations. 

Before  the  Pastor  takes  an  active  part  in  the  church  service 
the  Negroes  usually  meet  and  have  a  song  service.  During 
this  preliminary  service  the  numbers  are  not  called  out,  but 
some  singer  starts  a  hymn  and  sings  perhaps  a  whole  line  be 
fore  the  others  make  out  clearly  what  it  is,  or  before  they  are 
prepared  to  add  to  the  volume.  When  this  piece  is  thoroughly 
under  way  it  is  carried  on  until  the  end  and  then  there  is  a  silence 
for  a  minute  or  so  until  another  singer  starts  up  something 
else.  Thus  it  goes  until  'the  preacher  takes  his  place  in  the 
pulpit  and  announces  a  hymn.  He  "lines"  it  out  for  them  fre 
quently.4  We  have  heard  thus  read  the  whole  hymn,  then  re 
turn  to  the  first  verse  and  read  two  lines  (line  them)  which 
is  followed  by  that  much  singing,  then  read  two  more  lines,  etc., 
etc.,  until  the  end  is  reached.  This  method  enables  even  those 
who  do  not  read  to  catch  the  words,  and  also  calls  attention 
to  the  import  of  the  song  as  well  as  to  the  music.  \Vhen  the 
preacher  can  line  them  well  the  result  is  very  impressive. 

The  Negro  has  a  musical  ear.  Very  few  rehearsals  find 
him  qualified  to  "bear  down''  on  a  song.  This  aptness  to  learn 
music  has  inspired  some  ingenious  composers  of  songs  ,to  go 
from  big  meeting  to  big  meeting,  singing  their  compositions 
and  then  selling  them  at  so  much  per  copy.  A  good  singer, 
usually  termed  a  "Professor,"  who  has  a  song  with  some  swing 
to  it  can  realize  quite  a  neat  sum  at  such  a  gathering.  This 
type  of  song  is  well  illustrated  by  a  printed  sheet  that  was  pur 
chased  from  Rev.  J.  O.  3eay,  who  is  a  janitor  at  one  of  the 
Chemical  laboratories  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  is 
also  pastor  of  a  little  flock  near  Charlottesville.  His  song  en 
titled  "City  of  Refuge"  exhibits  the  well-known  tendency  of 


4.  Inside  View  of  Slavery,  C.  G.  Parsons,  M.  D.:  "In  the  early 
history  of  our  country  when  books  were  scarce  and  expensive,  our 
forefathers  were  in  the  habit  of  singing  at  church  without  hymn- 
books, — the  minister  reading  aloud  one  line  at  a  time  and  then  the 
congregation  joining  to  sing  it."  Thus  in  things  musical  the  Negro 
is  travelling  the  road  our  fathers  trod,  just  as  some  Negro  churches 
to-day  exhibit  emotionalism,  as  the  whites  exhibited  it  during  the 
last  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 


154  RKUGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

Negro    preachers    to    dwell    especially  on    the    prominent    Old 
Testament  characters. 

1.  "The   decree   was   signed   by   Darius,   and   then, 

Daniel  was  cast  in  the  Lion's  Den ; 
God  sent  an  angel  on  his  accord, 
He  came  and  locked  the  lion's  jaw. 

Chorus. 

"I  am  going  to  run,  I  am  going  to  run, 
I  am  going  to  run  to  the  City  of  Refuge, 
I  am  going  to  run. 

2.  "Job  was  a  man  whom  God  did  love ; 

God  gave  Job  a  home  above, 
The  time  came  he  had  to  die, 
Then  Job  was  taken  up  in  the  sky. 

Chorus. 

3.  "Elijah  and  Elisha  they  went  together, 

God  took  one  and  left  the  other 
Elijah  looked  and  did  aspire 
He  saw  the  chariot  and  the  horses  of  fire." 

Chorus. 

A  new  Testament  character  is  thus  introduced  in  the  last 
verse : 

9.  "They  put  John  in  a  kettle  of  oil 

God  was  with  him  and  he  never  got  soiled 
With  hallowed  power,  the  angel  came 
Went  into  the  kettle  and  cooled  the  flame." 

Chorus. 

Another  important  feature  of  their  singing  throws  much 
light  upon  a  certain  form  of  literary  composition.  The  stu 
dents  of  the  ballad  have  a  theory  that  the  fine  old  English  bal 
lads,  of  which  we  have  survivals  in  this  State,  were  not  the 
result  of  the  authorship  of  an  individual  but  were  the  outcome 
of  community  authorship.  Anyone  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
attend  a  Negro  church  during  big  meeting  times  will  hear  com- 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  155 

inunity  authorship  of  hymns  going  on  in  his  very  presence.5 
For  instance,  in  certain  songs  the  mere  substitution  of  a  differ 
ent  name  enables  them  to  sing  again-  the  whole  stanza  without 
feeling  that  they  are  repeating.  The  most  ignorant  kitchen 
servant  might  by  such  means  contribute  to  the  most  beautiful 
songs.  *That  this  has  often  happened  no  student  of  Negro 
church  music  can  deny.  In  such  a  song  as  "Peter  Go  Ring  dem 
Bells"  <;  we  see  these  possibilities  exemplified,  viz : 

"Oh,  Peter  go  ring  dem  bells 
Oh,  Peter  go  ring  dem  bells 
Oh,  Peter  go  ring  dem  bells 
I  heard  from  heaven  to-day. 
I  wonder  where  my  mother  is  gone 
I  wonder  where  my  mother  is  gone 
I  wonder  where  my  mother  is  gone 
I  heard   from  heaven  to-day. 

Chorus. 

I  heard  from  heaven  to-day 
I  heard  from  heaven  to-day 
I  thank  God,  and  I  thank  you  too 
I  heard  from  heaven  to-day. 

"I    wonder   where    Sister    Mary's   gone 
I  heard  from  heaven  to-day, 
I  wonder  where  Sister  Martha's  gone 
I  heard  from  heaven  to-day 
Its  good  news  and  I  thank  God 
I  heard  from  heaven  to-day 

0  Peter,  go  ring  dem  bells 

1  heard  from  heaven  to-day. 

Chorus. 

"I  wonder  where  brudder  Moses  gone, 
I  wonder  where  brudder  David  gone,  etc. 
He's  gone  where  Elijah  has  gone,"  etc.,  ad  in  fin-it  um 


5.  For  this   conception   of  the   composition   of  some   Negro  church 
music  we  are  indebted  to   Dr.   C.  Alphonso  Smith,   Edgar  Allan   Poe 
Professor  of  English  at  the  University  of  Virginia. 

6.  Hampton  and  Its  Students,  by  M.  F.  Armstrong  and  Helen  W. 
Ludlow,  pp.    174,   175. 


156  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NKGRO 

We  have  said  in  a  previous  chapter  that  the  Negro  is  mighty 
in  prayer.  This  is  true  whether  it  is  made  to  apply  to  men  or 
women.  We  have  heard  young  Negro  women  frame  prayers 
that  would  do  credit  to  many  theological  students.  If  theirs 
was  not  a  baring  of  the  heart,  we  never  expect  to  hear  words 
paint  a  picture.  Frequently,  such  prayers  are  repetitious  and 
almost  without  exception  characterized  by  imagery.  This  is 
one  form  of  service  in  which  the  Negro  church  is  superior  to 
the  white.  Many  Negroes  in  a  single  congregation  are  always 
prepared  to  "put  up"  a  prayer  when  called  on.  The  preacher 
arranges  the  first  part  of  his  service  so  that  there  are  several 
songs  and  several  prayers.  Sometimes  there  is  little  more  dif 
ference  between  the  two  than  that  which  exists  between  cho 
ruses  and  solos.  Such  church  prayers  always  become  "sing- 
songy."  The  first  part  of  the  prayer  is  uttered  in  normal  tones, 
and  after  a  minute  or  so  the  calm  utterance  gives  place  to  the 
half  singing  element  which  constitutes  the  main  body  of  the 
prayer.  At  a  place  near  the  end  the  change  from  the  climax 
comes  suddenly  and  the  quiet  speaking  voice  is  again  resumed 
until  the  Amen  is  said.  During  the  main  body  of  the  prayer 
the  whole  congregation  rises  on  the  wings  of  faith  with  the 
person  who  is  praying  and  all  are  ready  in  spirit  to  aid  the  sup 
pliant  as  he  wrestles  with  the  Almighty.  We  have  heard  as 
many  as  ten  "Amen's"  and  several  "God  grant  it's"  at  one 
moment  while  such  a  prayer  was  in  progress,  and  such  encour 
agement  is  doubly  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  Negro.  Soon  after 
he  begins  his  prayer  the  Negro  seems  to  be  delighted  that  at 
last  the  Lord  in  Heaven  lends  an  ear  to  his  supplications.  He 
is  transformed.  The  same  Negro  that  we  saw  driving  a  white 
mule  during  a  summer's  day  was  standing  before  the  congre 
gation  that  night  with  all  the  sense  of  importance  of  an  am 
bassador  plenipotentiary  as  he  poured  out  his  tale  of  human 
woes  and  earthly  sorrows  into  the  ear  of  the  Infinite.  The 
pathetic  element  in  his  voice  was  comparable  to  a  funeral  dirge 
and  his  intonation  was  as  dreamy  and  sonorous  as  a  twilight 
song.  The  scene  was  so  realistic  and  his  tones  so  mournful, 
that  if  the  man  had  been  condemned  to  suiter  the  sorrows  of 
the  damned  and  had  suddenly  been  informed  that  he  might  es- 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  157 

cape  punishment  if  he  pleaded  powerfully  enough  with  his 
judge,  no  more  pathetic,  appealing  element  could  have  charac 
terized  his  voice.  There  were  fervor,  supplication,  humility, 
an  acknowledgment  of  sin  and  a  thankfulness  for  escaped  pit 
falls  in  such  prayers,  that  cannot  be  expressed  by  Anglo-Saxon 
lips ;  it  is  the  Negro's  province  and  in  it  he  reigns  supreme. 

Dr.  Howard  W.  Odum  1  has  written  out  two  prayers  uttered 
by  Negroes  that  accord  so  fully  with  our  experience  while  in 
attendance  at  their  services  that  he  shall  quote  them  as  models. 
The  italics  indicate  the  intoned  portions :  "O  Lord,  to-night 
our  Fadder,  we  thank  thee  for  the  privilege  which  thou  has 
promised  us  to  engage  in  this  hour  for  the  express  purpose  of 
having  us  to  worship  thee  with  reverent  prayer.  Most  holy, 
Fadder,  besides  thee  we  know  no  other  name  whereby  we  can 
be  saved.  Most  holy  God,  our  Fadder,  our  Fadder,  you  have 
said  in  yo'  most  holy  and  written  word  that  where  one  or  two 
or  three  o'  yo'  believin'  servants  come  togedder  you  would  be 
in  de  midst  of  yo'  chilluns.  And  Oh,  Oh,  Jesus,  we  ask  you  to 
come  into  this  little  'senibly  ari  endow  iis  zvith  thy  spirit.  We'se 
but  frail  creatures  an'  evil,  we  doan  feel  worthy  o'  callin'  on 
you  to-night,  our  heavenly  Father,  we  doan  feel  worthy  o'  cal 
lin'  on  thee,  but  we  ask  you  to-night  to  come  into  our  midst. 
O  Lord,  bless  them  tliafs  not  here,  hover  'round  them  the  arm 
o'  protection.  We  ask  you  to  bless  the  sinner  to-night  an'  the 
gambler  an'  zve  ask  you  to  bless  the  dancin'  women.  We  thank 
thee  to-night,  our  Fadder,  that  las'  night  zve  did  not  lay  down 
on  de  bed  o'  death  an  wake  up  this  mornin'  in  the  mornin'  o' 
judgment.  O  my  Lord,  wouldst  thou  be  pleased  to  remind  me 
to-morrow  the  sun  may  rise  on  my  grave.  An  O  Lord  wouldst 
tJiou  be  pleased  to  bless  yo'  servant  to-night  who's  been  waitin' 
so  long.  Oh,  oh.  my  Lord,  thou  divine  and  heavenly  Father, 
God  of  the  world  an'  tender  love,  please  hear  yo'  servant  to 
night.  Oh,  oh,  my  Lord  sometimes  zve  try  to  weep  but  zve 
can't  zvcep :  come  dozvn  to-night  an'  weep  zvid  us ;  O  Lord,  to 
night,  our  Fadder,  sometimes  zve  try  to  sing  an'  zve  can't  sing ; 
come  dozvn  to-night,  our  Fadder,  an  sing  zvid  us — 

"Now,  our  Fadder,  when  \ve  done  tolin',  when  we  done  meet- 


7.    Social  and  Mental  Traits  of  the  Negro,  pp.  69-72. 


158  RELIGIOUS    DKVlCLOPMENT    OF    Tlllv    NEGRO 

in/  when  we  done  minglin'  here,  when  we  don't  'tend  no  mo' 
meetin's  when  we'se  done  comin'  to  dis  ole  church — save  our 
souls  is  the  petition  of  yo'  humble  servant,  for  Chris'  sake- 
Am  en." 

A  woman's  pathetic  prayer:  "O/z — oh — Lord,  to-night,  blass 
the  bastcriri  child,  wherever  he  is;  Oh — oh — Lord,  bless  mv 
mothe/s  children  scattered  in  foreign  lands;  oh — oh — Lord, 
bless  my  sister's  children  to-night.  Oh — oh — Lord,  \ou  knows 
my  heart  an  you  knows  I  wants  to  do  right;  oh — oh — Lord, 
give  me  clean  hands  an'  clean  heart,  an  oh — oh — Lord,  you  has 
blessed  me  befo'  when  I  prayed  an  you  has  promised  to  bless 
me  agin  if  I  come  in  de  right  spirit  an  Oh — oh — Lord,  to-night 
bless  me;  an  you  has  promised  to  have  mercy  on  yo'  chilluns  an" 
it  does  seem  like  we  need  mercy  over  this  Ian  to-night  .  .  .  ." 
Such  pathetic  prayers  indicate  magnificent  possibilities  if  we 
could  only  be  sure  that  the  persons  who  uttered  them  lived 
proper  lives,  but  frequently  we  have  been  assured  by  friends  at 
tending  meetings  with  us  that  So-and-So  who  prayed  so  long 
was  a  grand  rascal.  There  are  more,  however,  who  are  mighty 
in  prayer  who  live  exemplary  lives.  It  must  never  be  overlooked 
that  some  Negro  preachers  do  not  pray  typical  Negro  prayers, 
but  speak  as  calmly  as  the  white  ministers.  Even  in  such  in 
stances  the  "amens"  are  frequent,  but  the  excitement  is  less  and 
the  volume  of  sound  not  so  great. 

After  the  singing  of  several  hymns  and  the  prayers  are  fin 
ished  the  preacher  reads  the  Scripture  lesson,  chooses  his  text 
and  preaches.  Negroes  are  natural  preachers.  There  are  many 
degrees  of  men  who  have  entered  this  holy  calling,  varying  from 
the  "pot  liquor"  preachers  who  gladly  rant  for  the  sake  of  a 
meal,  to  the  educated,  higher  class  Negro  who  really  does  his 
race  much  good  by  his  excellent  example  and  splendid  Gospel 
messages.  There  is  generally  an  abundance  of  preachers,  and 
sad  to  relate,  many  are  not  worth  their  salt.  A  single  congrega 
tion  will  frequently  have  several  local  preachers  and  is  also  sub 
ject  to  the  occasional  visits  of  a  tramp  preacher.  The  tramp 
preacher  comes  into  a  neighborhood  with  his  hand-bag,  preaches 
a  sermon,  is  not  a  real  element  in  the  community  in  which  he 
works  perhaps  once  a  month,  accepts  his  pay,  and  then  hies  off 
to  other  fields  only  to  return  after  another  interval.  Community 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  159 

life  and  leadership  cannot  be  built  under  such  adverse  circum 
stances.  The  rural  districts  are  the  real  sufferers  from  this  kind 
of  minister  as  well  as  from  those  who  know  no  farming  or  prac 
tical  business.8 

The  sermon  matter  is  usually  a  mere  recitation  of  some  Bible 
story  with  some  well-pointed  morals.  There  are  certain  time- 
honored  texts  which  have  grown  familiar  to  all  hearers  from 
constant  usage,  yet  these  are  allowed  little  rest.  The  sermon 
begins  with  very  calm  statements,  but  this  feature  of  their  wor 
ship  is  not  different  from  the  others  in  that,  as  time  rolls  on,  the 
enthusiasm  rises.  The  rousing  effect  of  the  spirited  songs  and 
the  intense  emotions  aroused  by  the  prayers  have  not  fully  sub 
sided  before  the  preacher  leaves  his  calm,  quiet  manner  and  ap 
pears  in  the  role  of  a  dispenser  of  "rousements."  He  tells  of 
the  examples  set  by  men  of  old,  rarely  omitting  Elijah  and  the 
chariot  of  fire,  or  the  three  Hebrew  children  in  the  fiery  furnace, 
and  eventually  approaches  a  climax  in  which  all  his  hearers  are 
taken  up  to  walk  with  King  Jesus  on  the  streets  of  gold  in 
Heaven,  the  home  of  the  redeemed.  During  this  mental  ascent 
from  the  toils  and  ills  of  this  life  to  a  home  of  rest  and  happi 
ness  in  the  skies,  the  hearers  have  hung  upon  every  word,  not 
to  weigh  its  value,  but  to  give  assent  thereto.  In  an  atmosphere 
of  excitement  the  effect  of  the  sermon  is  usually  measured  by 
its  appeal  to  the  emotions.  Never  does  a  man  appear  before  a 
more  sympathetic  audience  than  when  he  appears  before  a  con 
gregation  of  Negroes.  Whether  the  preacher  be  white  or  black 
the  Negro  listener  gets  into  the  service  by  lending  him  encourage 
ment.  As  his  enthusiasm  rises,  theirs  does  too.  It  is  a  wonder 
that  the  preacher  can  think,  amid  such  coaching,  yet  the  Negro 
preachers  seem  to  glory  in  these  exclamations :  "Talkin',"  "Tell 
'em  'bout  it,"  "Preachin'  now,"  "Yes,"  "He's  right,  too," 
"Urn — huh,"  "Ha — ha,"  "Talkin',  preacher,"  "Preachin'  de 
word,"  "Amen,— Amen,"  "Lord  God,"  "Lord  help  us."  Many 
other  ejaculations  one  hears,  especially  from  the  amen  corner, 
although  that  place  has  no  monopoly  on  the  output.  We  have 
heard  one  woman  cooing  like  a  dove,  another  clapping  her  hands, 


B.  The  Future  of  the  American  Negro,  Booker  T.  Washington,  pp. 
29,  30. 


160  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

still  another  patting  her  feet,  and  have  been  convinced  by  the 
shaking  of  heads  and  swaying  of  bodies  that  the  intensity  of 
such  a  scene  must  be  a  tremendous  strain  upon  the  worshippers. 
It  is  inevitable  that  some  poorly  prepared  men  should  be  or 
dained.  Congregational  government  accounts  for  many  of 
these  instances.  One  old  Negro  who  thought  that  the  mystic 
letters  G.  P.  meant  go  preach  was  later  informed  by  his  dis 
gruntled  congregation  that  the  letters  really  meant  go  plow, 
and  the  chances  are  about  a  thousand  to  one  that  the  congre 
gation  was  right.  "Calls"  are  constantly  coming  to  Negroes. 
A  Negro  that  we  have  seen  in  Hanover  County  declared  that 
an  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to  him  and  seemed  to  be  stand 
ing  in  a  window  in  the  elements  on  the  occasion  when  his  call 
was  received.  Booker  Washington  relates  in  his  autobiography, 
"Up  from  Slavery,"  the  process  of  falling  out  on  the  floor  of 
the  church  in  his  home  town  when  such  "calls"  came  to  the 
Negroes  who  had  learned  to  read,  and  he  feared  that  after 
he  got  his  education  a  "call"  would  come  to  him  also,  but  he 
was  spared.9  The  work  of  the  minister  has  long  since  been 
considered  a  sinecure  by  the  Negroes  and  the  high-flown  talk 
and  imposing  strut  of  the  ignorant  Negro  preacher  are  too  well 
known  to  need  comment.  We  have  not  found,  however,  that 
the  Negro  preachers  who  are  active  at  present  oppose  manual 
labor  as  some  have  contended,10  but  their  influence  has  been 
quite  to  the  contrary.  Undoubtedly  some  men  did  go  into  the 
ministry  to  dodge  hard  work.  Booker  Washington  tells  of  such 
a  case  (undoubtedly  imaginary)  in  which  this  factor  was  po 
tent.  He  says  a  colored*  man  in  Alabama,  one  hot  day  in  July, 
while  he  was  at  work  in  a  cotton  field,  suddenly  stopped,  and 
looking  toward  the  skies,  said,  "O,  Lord,  de  cotton  am  so  grassy, 
de  work  am  so  hard,  and  the  sun  am  so  hot  dat  I  believe  dis 
darky  am  called  to  preach."  11  How  different  are  such  motives 
for  entering  the  ministry  from  those  seen  in  the  definition  of 
a  "call,"  as  given  by  Dr.  E.  M.  Poteat,  President  of  Furman 


9.  Up   from   Slavery.     Booker  T.   Washington,  p.   82. 

10.  Educational    Review.      March    1901.    p.    241.      P.    B.    Barringer. 
Also,  The  American   Negro,  Wm.   Hannibal  Thomas,   p.   68. 

11.  Up   from  Slavery,   Booker  T.  Washington,  p.   128. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  161 

University.  Dr.  Poteat  in  a  letter  to  us  wrote:  "The  man 
who  has  come  to  a  deep  consciousness  of  God  and  his  own  sin 
and  of  the  sins  of  his  own  people  and  has  had  experience  of 
the  cleansing  grace  of  Christ  and  of  yearnings  to  help  in  the 
great  work  God  is  doing  in  the  world  is  probably  called  to  be 
a  preacher.  I  say  probably  for  the  reason  that  it  is  not  certain 
that  he  is  called.  If  there  are  no  defects  or  hindrances  he  ought 
to  go  into  the  work  of  the  ministry."  We  venture  to  say  that 
few  indeed  among  the  Negroes  have  risen  high  enough  to  be 
influenced  by  such  a  factor  as  President  Poteat  has  stated ;  yet 
by  means  of  the  efforts  of  missionaries  who  hold  institutes,  de 
liver  lectures,  and  give  study  courses,  the  work  of  the  Negro 
ministry  is  being  pictured  in  its  true  light  and  many  worthy 
Negroes  are  now  undertaking  the  duties  of  the  ministry  as  a 
life-work. 

If  the  old  adage  is  true,  "Like  priest;  like  people"  then  the 
responsibility  is  great  to  see  that  the  Negro  preachers  are  good 
leaders.  Public  sentiment  must  do  this,  and  it  can.  The  in 
temperate,  dishonest,  lecherous,  ignorant  Negro  preacher  is  des 
tined  to  go  when  public  opinion  is  thoroughly  aroused.  Only 
intelligence  awakens  public  opinion ;  ignorance  lulls  to  sleep. 
Not  even  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  Negro  preacher's  home 
will  be  free  from  the  peering  eyes  of  the  world,  and  his  home 
life  must  be  as  nearly  ideal  as  possible  to  satisfy  the  public's 
demands.  Emotionalism,  self-glory  and  corrupt  politics  must 
be  promptly  eschewed  and  the  effort  must  constantly  be  made 
to  be  at  peace  with  all  men.  Conciliation  will  win  where  a 
grim  insistance  on  rights  will  merely  meet  rebuff.  The  preach 
er's  whole  life  must  be  lived  before  men  so  that  he  can  be 
instantly  accountable  for  every  deed  without  fear  of  shame  or 
compromise.  One  ounce  of  example  means  more  for  the  Ne 
gro's  uplift  than  tons  of  print  or  oceans  of  vocal  torrents. 

The  Negroes  of  Virginia  have  had  many  talented  ministers 
in  their  midst  since  the  War.  Rev.  Harvey  Johnson  born  in 
Fauquier,  Rev.  C.  C.  Vaughn  born  in  Dinwiddie,  Rev.  Christo 
pher  H.  Payne,  Rev.  James  H.  Holmes,  pastor  of  a  church 
with  nearly  5,000  members,  and  Rev.  John  Jasper  of  "Sun  do 
move"  fame  have  been  among  their  best-known  religious  lead- 

— U 


162  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OE    THE    NEGRO 

ers  of  the  recent  past.  We  shall  choose,  for  brevity's  sake, 
only  two  of  the  present  day  ministers  for  mention  in  this  place: 
one  from  the  strongest  denomination  and  the  other  from  the 
eleventh.  Rev.  A.  Binga,  Jr.,  a  Baptist  preacher  of  South  Rich 
mond,  is  now  a  man  of  some  years,  but  his  vigor  of  intellect 
seems  unabated  and  his  excellent  character  has  won  for  him 
the  universal  esteem  of  the  sound  thinking  people  of  Rich 
mond.  His  influence  is  positively  for  good  and  this  State  would 
be  fortunate  to  have  more  such  reliable  men  as  leaders  of  the 
Negro  race.  Concerning  a  volume  of  sermons  which  Rev. 
Binga  published,  the  distinguished  Southerner,  Dr.  J.  L.  M. 
Curry,  wrote:  "My  dear  Brother:  With  your  letter  of  May  3d 
came  the  volume  of  Sermons.  Frequent  absence  from  home 
and  much  work  have  prevented  an  early  examination  of  the 
book — Now  I  write  to  express  the  pleasure  and  instruction  I 
have  derived  from  your  'offering  to  the  cause  of  Christ.'  In 
many  respects,  the  Sermons  are  unique  and  valuable,  because 
of  real  ability,  of  evangelical  orthodoxy,  of  excellent  spirit, 
and  as  proof  and  hopeful  augury  of  the  advancement  of  your 
race.  I  shall  treasure  this  volume  of  sermons  as  the  production 
of  an  esteemed  brother."  We  believe  that  there  are  many  other 
preachers  who  might  be  mentioned  for  their  intellectual  ability 
as  makers  of  sermons,  but  W.  E  Nash,  a  minister  of  the  Dis 
ciples  of  Christ,  by  his  excellent  bearing  and  forceful  message 
not  only  served  his  own  people  faithfully,  but  also  won  his  way 
into  the  hearts  of  the  white  State  Convention  of  that  brother 
hood  which  met  at  Lynchburg  in  September,  1913. 12  At  the 
conclusions  of  his  address  some  were  heard  to  say,  "Others  have 
done  well,  but  the  'brother  in  black'  excelled  them  all"  and 
Judge  Garnett  of  Tidewater  Virginia  suggested  that  if  black 
men  could  preach  like  that  we  needed  to  black  up  a  few  of  the 
white  ministers.  To  deny  the  capacity  for  uplifting  service  to 
such  men  as  these  would  be  little  less  than  criminal.  The  prob 
lem  is,  how  to  get  more  such  men. 

We  can  see  no  possible  solution  except  along  the  line  of  in 
telligence.     The  letters  which  tell  of  the  first  definite  attempts 


12.   Report    in    Christian    Monthly.      October,    1913,    p.    7. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  163 

to  educate  the  Negroes  for  the  ministry  in  schools  are  abso 
lutely  pathetic. 1;1  As  Dr.  Colver  said,  "We  almost  have  to 
make  the  mind  to  instruct."  Soon  after  the  war  such  a  statement 
was  hardly  an  exaggeration.  It  was  at  least  a  very  popular  fal 
lacy  if  it  was.  At  Fredericksburg  in  1870  the  Virginia  Baptist 
State  Convention  (Negro)  went  on  record  as  anxious  for  a  bet 
ter  educated  ministry,  when  a  corresponding  secretary's  re 
port  boldly  said :  "One  great  hindrance  to  the  cause  of  mis 
sions  in  the  State,  is  the  want  of  an  intelligent  ministry.  The 
population  are  in  darkness,  and  many  of  the  ministering  breth 
ren  are  not  prepared  to  enlighten  them.  Let  the  Convention 
instruct,  or  advise  all  the  brethren  to  devote  as  much  time  as 
they  possibly  can  to  study,  in  order  that  they  may  be  better  pre 
pared  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  in  edifying  the  church  and 
perfecting  the  saints."  14  Nothing  is  more  persistently  urged 
at  these  conventions  than  the  improvement  of  the  ministers. 
In  the  long  run  the  community  which  is  blessed  with  a  well 
trained,  intelligent  Negro  minister  is  likely  to  show  progress 
along  other  lines  and  the  community  which  is  cursed  with  the 
opposite  type  of  minister  is  likely  to  be  filled  with  despair.15 
The  country  preacher  should  know  how  to  plow  as  well  as  to 
pray;  the  city  preacher  should  know  sociology  as  well  as  theol 
ogy.  As  intelligence  in  the  pews  becomes  more  prevalent 
among  the  Negroes,  a  ministry  must  rise  to  the  occasion.  The 
intelligent  Negro  laymen  are  asking  for  bread  and  they  will  not 
be  content  with  stones.  Pulpits  characterized  by  emptiness  of 
ideas  and  fullness  of  sound  will  not  ever  remain  popular.  No 
feature  of  Negro  church  life  is  more  deplorable  than  the  care 
lessness  sometimes  manifested  in  ordaining  men  to  the  minis 
try.  The  Negroes  will  follow ;  they  must  have  leaders  who 
can  and  will  lead.  Just  here  is  where  the  modern  Negro  has 
his  chance. 

The  primitive  type  of  preacher  is  the  most  popular  at  pres- 


13.  History  of  the  Richmond  Theological  Seminary.     C.   H.   Corey, 
pp.   62,   63. 

14.  See    Baptist   Year    Book,    1871. 

15.  The  Demand  and  the  Supply  of  Increased  Efficiency  in  the  Ne 
gro  Ministry.     Jesse  E.  Moreland. 


164  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

ent.  A  new  type,  however,  is  fast  evolving.  This  new  type 
of  preacher  will  hardly  attain  to  the  popularity  of  the  old  style 
minister,  hut  more  good  will  be  done  hy  his  ministry.  At  pres 
ent,  the  college  minister  is  laboring  over  form.  His  gestures, 
voice  effects,  appearance,  etc.,  are  important  matters  now,  but 
he  is  surely  improving.  The  habit  of  borrowing  sermons  and 
trying  to  lose  his  identity  in  the  white  man's  no  longer  enthralls 
him.  High  ideals  are  inculcated  in  these  men  at  their  colleges 
and  they  are  leaders  in  cultivating  race  pride  after  they  have 
accepted  a  pastorate.  A  few  of  these  young  preachers  are  silly 
enough  to  antagonize  the  whites,  but  this  minority  is  not  in 
fluential  and  is  almost  universally  decried  by  the  real  Negro 
leaders.  A  saner  type  of  Negro  preacher  is  here,  and  it  is  en 
tirely  becoming  that  the  white  people  should  recognize  his 
worth  and  give  the  credit  where  it  is  due,  or  at  least  distin 
guish  between  the  bad  and  good  among  them  sufficiently  to 
place  no  crimes,  or  even  blame,  at  the  doors  of  the  innocent. 

After  the  singing  and  praying  and  preaching  portions  of  the 
service  have  been  concluded,  we  see  something  that  makes  us 
think  that  the  climax  has  come.  Generally  some  "gifted" 
speaker,  a  church  officer,  stands  near  a  table  placed  in  front 
of  the  pulpit  and  makes  an  appeal  for  money.  The  nature  of 
this  appeal  is  frequently  anything  but  elevating.  The  object 
seems  to  be  to  get  the  people  in  good  humor.  The  choir 
usually  sings  during  the  offering.  The  method  of  giving  is  for 
the  giver  to  leave  his  seat,  walk  up  to  the  table  at  the  front  of 
the  church,  place  the  money  on  the  table,  and  then  return  to 
his  seat.  Naturally,  some  of  the  belles  desire  to  make  many 
trips  to  the  table  to  show  their  charms,  and  this  process  leads 
to  small  deposits  on  each  trip,  but  a  surprisingly  large 
total.  As  a  man  who  "lifts"  a  collection  continues  his  plea  for 
more  money  the  Negroes  have  been  known  to  give  their  last 
cent,  and  the  surprising  thing  of  it  all  is  that  the  amount  that 
they  set  out  to  raise  is  usually  raised.  "We  must  have  ten  dol 
lars  on  this  table  to-night"  the  collection  "lifter"  announces  and 
ten  dollars  is  very  likely  to  get  there.  After  all  have  been  given 
an  opportunity  to  come  to  the  table,  the  baskets  or  hats  are 
passed  through  the  congregation  to  gather  up  the  remnants.  The 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    NEGRO  165 

counting  of  the  money  has  been  going  on  during  all  this  time 
and  the  services  are  about  done. 

The  objection  has  been  made  that  the  collection  coming  after 
the  sermon  leaves  little  of  the  impression  of  the  sermon  on  the 
minds  of  the  worshippers.1"  Spiritual  truth  has  few  chances 
to  survive  through  some  of  the  jokes  and  jibes  incident  to  "lift 
ing"  a  collection.  The  dignity  of  the  service  is  thus  rudely 
shocked.  But  the  Negroes  do  give.  The  whites  have  not  ap 
proached  them  in  this  matter  of  liberality.  With  the  Negroes 
it  is  an  every  member  matter.  The  regular  yearly  expenses — 
assessments — are  met  and  a  host  of  special  offerings  are  con 
stantly  being  received.  The  congregation  is  divided  into  teams 
and  the  pride  of  the  victorious  captain  is  almost  unbounded. 
When  these  teams  begin  fighting  it  out  in  a  $77.52  rally  or  a 
$300.00  rally  the  amounts  somehow  mysteriously  arrive.  Sac 
rifice  accounts  for  much  of  their  success,  yet  the  cynical  de 
clare  that  the  cook's  basket,  a  national  institution,  explains 
much  of  the  mystery.  One  thing  is  certain,  the  proverbial 
chicken  thieves  among  the  Negroes  are  fewer  in  number  at 
present  than  formerly  and  even  if  it  is  a  temptation  to  the  Negro 
to  attach  a  rooster  to  himself  occasionally,  so  the  deposits  of  a 
bank  or  a  railroad  are  temptations  to  the  white  man,  and  we 
frequently  punish  one  as  severely  as  the  other.  The  lack  of 
proper  influences  is  seen  in  every  word  uttered  by  a  Negro 
maid  to  her  mistress  when  caught  stealing,  "Law,  mam,  don't 
say  I'se  wicked ;  old  Aunt  Ann  says  it  allers  right  for  us  poor 
colored  people  to  'propriate  whatever  of  the  wite  folks  blessin's 
de  Lord  puts  in  our  way."  Petty  thefts  are  foolish  for  prop 
erty  owners  to  think  about.  Hard  work  certainly  accounts  for 
most  of  the  money  paid  into  the  church  by  Negroes,  and  none 
of  the  glory  of  their  liberality  should  be  minimized  by  carping 
on  an  occasional  departure  from  the  paths  of  rectitude.  Wfe 
have  ascertained  from  letters  sent  to  the  leading  white  denom 
inational  mission  boards  that  considerably  more  than  a  million 
dollars  have  been  contributed  by  them  to  various  forms  of 
educational  and  church  work  in  Virginia.  Individual  whites 
have  added  many  more  thousands  to  this  grand  total. 


16.  Reforms  in  Negro  Church  Worship.     A.  Binga,  Jr. 


166  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

These  services  continue  until  late  in  the  night,  and  when  the 
benediction  is  pronounced,  it  is  time  that  the  worshippers  should 
rest. 

No  one  could  describe  a  protracted  meeting-^'big  meeting" 
— because  words  fail  to  convey  an  adequate  conception  of  such 
occasions.  The  most  interesting  of  such  meetings  take  place 
in  the  country  during  the  month  of  August.  A  "big"  city 
preacher  is  usually  called  on  to  do  the  preaching  and  these  serv 
ices  last  for  a  week  or  so  during  much  of  the  day  and  fre 
quently  up  to  midnight.  All  of  the  phenomena  seen  in  city 
churches-  are  heightened  and  enlarged  in  the  country  meetings. 
Du  Bois  has  expressed  some  of  the  intensity  of  such  an  occa 
sion  in  his  much  quoted  lines :  "A  sort  of  suppressed  terror 
hung  in  the  air  and  seemed  to  seize  us — a  pythian  madness,  a 
demoniac  possession,  that  lent  terrible  reality  to  song  and  word. 
The  black  and  massive  form  of  the  preacher  swayed  and  quiv 
ered  as  the  words  crowded  to  his  lips  and  flew  at  us  in  singular 
eloquence.  The  people  moaned  and  fluttered,  and  then  the 
gaunt-cheeked  brown  woman  beside  me  suddenly  leaped  straight 
in  the  air  and  shrieked  like  a  lost  soul,  while  round  about  came 
wail  and  groan  and  outcry,  and  a  scene  of  human  passion  such 
as  I  had  never  conceived  before."  1T 

The  all-day  meetings  draw  attendants  from  even  the  sur 
rounding  counties  and  a  dinner  is  spread  which  shows  ample 
provision  for  all.  Fried  chicken,  roast  pig,  pickles,  a  "mess" 
of  cabbage,  potatoes,  several  kinds  of  bread,  fruit,  pies,  cakes 
and  other  things  go  to  make  up  the  feast.  Much  happiness  is 
manifest  during  this  recess  and  then  the  afternoon  service  be 
gins  quite  languidly.  The  service  is  eventually  over  and  when 
inquiries  after  friends  and  acquaintances  are  done,  the  church 
grounds  are  deserted  until  another  service.  The  baptizing  gen 
erally  takes  place  at  the  conclusion  of  the  big  meeting  and  ad 
ministering  of  this  rite  is  ordinarily  a  fitting  climax  to  the  won 
derful  outburst  of  religious  enthusiasm.  It  would  be  impossi 
ble  to  mention  protracted  meetings  held  in  Virginia  by  Negroes 
without  stating  a  few  of  the  salient  facts  in  connection  with 
the  great  revival  held  in  Norfolk  during  1911.  A  Negro 


17.  The  Souls  of  Black  Folk,  W.  E.  B.  Du  Bois,  p.  190. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  167 

preacher  named  F.  W.  Williams,  pastor  of  the  Queen  St.  Bap 
tist  Church,  had  a  "vision  from  God"  on  New  Year's  Day,  and 
a  simultaneous  revival  began  in  several  of  the  Negro  churches 
in  March.  It  so  happened  that  Rev.  Dr.  C.  S.  Morris,  a  dis 
tinguished  Negro  from  the  North,  came  to  Virginia  at  this 
strategic  moment  and  immediately  became  the  man  of  the  hour. 
The  ten  weeks  revival  was  greatest  at  his  church.  One  night 
296  Negroes  were  converted;  another  211;  another  111  and  as 
many  as  50  or  more  a  night  were  not  uncommon.  Negro  dance 
halls  that  did  a  three  hundred  dollar  business  each  night  re 
corded  only  five  dollars,  saloons  were  practically  empty,  gam 
bling  was  checked,  the  police  court  had  no  Negroes  on  the 
docket ;  "Big  Hughsie,"  one  of  the  black  gambling  leaders,  was 
converted  and  urged  all  those  whom  he  had  taught  to  gamble 
to  raise  their  hands  ;•  at  least  a  hundred  hands  were  raised. 
This  man  was  arrested  the  same  night  for  praising  God  on  the 
streets,  but  was  later  bailed  out ;  the  American  Tobacco  Com 
pany  had  to  lay  off  its  hands  because  of  the  religious  frenzy; 
the  Farmers  Manufacturing  Company  had  a  similar  experi 
ence;  everywhere  from  kitchens  to  wharves  the  influence  of 
this  meeting  was  felt.  It  was  practically  a  singing  revival. 
Thousands  of  whites  gathered  to  hear  the  music.  "He  loved  me 
so"  and  "I  love  Him"  to  the  tune  of  "Old  Black  Joe,"  were  the 
greatest  favorites.  None  but  sinners  were  allowed  in  the  body 
of  the  church  and  these  were  converted  to  the  number  of  1,500 
or  2,000.  The  revival  did  much  good  in  Norfolk,  and  brought 
to  light  the  fact  that  the  Negroes  have  an  exceptionally  effi 
cient  leader  who  suffers  no  compromise  with  evil  himself  and 
is  especially  powerful  in  securing  the  co-operation  of  the  white 
ministers  of  Norfolk.18 

The  local  associations  and  the  State  conventions  are  well- 
attended  as  a  rule,  and  many  visitors  are  in  evidence.  The 
Negro  preachers  are  usually  dressed  their  best  and  the  church 
that  entertains  them  is  prepared  for  a  great  event.  Many  of 
the  Negroes  in  attendance  speak  and  many  special  sermons  are 
provided  for  on  the  program.  Debate  often  waxes  warm,  and 


18.  For    further    details    see    Norfolk   Public   Ledger,   April   21,    1911, 
et  passim. 


168  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

the  conventions  are  usually  well-conducted  and  handle  business 
as  expeditiously  as  could  be  expected.  During  a  convention 
held  recently  in  August  an  address  of  welcome  read  by  Sister 
Lula  R.  ''offered  the  Association  first  of  all  the  Church,  then 
extended  this  offer  to  the  homes,  tables  and  still  further  for 
feather  beds  which  things  have  always  and  everywhere  ap 
pealed  to  ministerial  dignity."  And  all  of  these  things  were 
duly  enjoyed  by  the  Convention,  too. 

We  have  said  in  our  preface  that  many  letters  had  been  sent 
to  various  individuals  in  different  parts  of  this  State.  These 
letters  were  sent  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  data  on  certain 
phases  of  our  subject.  Facts  are  fundamentally  important  for 
history ;  yet  the  facts  are  rarely  so  influential  as  what  men 
believe  about  those  facts.  What  the  Negro  is  and  what  peo 
ple  think  about  him  may  be  very  different,  yet  what  the  people 
think  will  be  the  thing  of  inestimable  importance  in  influencing 
our  attitude  towards  the  Negro.  We  have  striven  to  learn 
what  many  kinds  of  people  in  many  kinds  of  places  in  this 
Commonwealth  thought  on  certain  matters  pertinent  to  the 
question.  To  the  white  citizens  we  wrote  the  following  sched 
ule  of  Questions : 

1.  1.  Is  the  moral  condition  of  the  Negro  improving  or  not? 

2.  Are  the  Negro  ministers  in  your  community  good  or  bad 
men  ?     Name  two  or  more  virtues  or  vices. 

3.  What  do  you  think  of  the  religious  life  of  the  Negro? 

4.  How  can  the  Negro  Church  be  bettered? 

5.  To   what   extent   have   Negro   preachers   mixed   in   politics 
in  the  past?     Are  they  influential  now? 

To  the  Negro  preachers  this  schedule  of  questions  was  sent : 

II.  1.  Are  your  members  active  in  the  church?  Give  per 
centage. 

2.  Does    your    church    encourage    domestic    science,    normal 
training? 

3.  What  is  the  influence  of  the  exhorters  and  leading  mem 
bers? 

4.  Do  people  shout  in  your  church  ?     Do  you  oppose  it  ? 

5.  Name  three  favorite  hymns. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  169 

6.  What  are  your  greatest  difficulties  in  church  work? 

7.  Suggestions  for  bettering  the  Negro  church. 

The  Negro  laymen  were  requested  to  answer  the  following 
schedule  of  questions : 

III.  1.  What  is  the  condition  of  the  Negro  churches  in  your 
community  ? 

2.  Are   your   ministers   good   men  ?     Name   virtues    or   vices. 

3.  Are  the  young  people  interested?     Is  your  Sunday-school 
growing  ? 

4.  Do  you  think  sexual  immorality  is  increasing  or  decreas 
ing? 

5.  Name  some  of  your  churches'  charitable  works. 

6.  Name  three  favorite  hymns. 

7.  How  can  you  better  your  churches? 

We  were  sure  before  we  sent  out  a  single  question  that  the 
results  to  be  obtained  from  these  letters  were  not  to  be  strictly 
reliable.  In  the  first  place,  men  are  prone  to  be  very  charitable 
when  they  write  out  answers  to  such  questions,  far  preferring 
to  err  on  the  side  of  charity  than  run  the  risk  of  being  con 
sidered  prejudiced.  In  the  next  place,  men  of  vastly  different 
ages  received  these  letters  and  the  age  of  a  man  is  generally 
indicative  of  his  answer  when  it  concerns  the  Negro  question. 
In  the  last  place,  all  the  questions  sent  out  to  the  Negroes  were 
sent  to  the  best  educated  Negroes,  usually  college  Negroes,  be 
cause  we  were  unable  to  obtain  the  names  or  receive  written 
answers  from  illiterate  Negroes.19 

Several  of  these  questions  received  such  uniform  answers  as 
to  make  discussion  of  them  unnecessary,  but  we  shall  consider 
them  seriatim  to  prevent  confusion.  Schedule  I,  question  one, 
received  152  answers  indicating  that  the  Negro  life  is  improv 
ing  morally,  89  answers  that  it  is  not  improving  morally,  and 
ten  answers  that  indicate  uncertainty.  Where  there  were  few 
Negroes,  or  near  their  schools,  the  answers  showed  improvements, 


19.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  we  held  many  conver 
sations  with  illiterate  Negroes  in  order  that  their  view-point  would 
not  be  overlooked  in  this  study. 


170  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

but  where  Negroes  lived  to  themselves  mainly  as  in  the  black 
counties  the  answers  indicated  no  progress.  Nearly  every  doc 
tor  expressed  his  belief  that  they  were  not  improving,  but  this 
was  what  was  to  be  expected  from  this  profession  which  deals 
almost  entirely  with  their  ills. 

Schedule  I,  question  two,  received  a  majority  of  answers  in 
dicating  that  the  Negro  ministers  were  good  men  and  were 
above  the  average  of  their  race.  It  is  not  likely  that  unani 
mous  approval  would  be  given  even  to  white  preachers.  Among 
the  virtues  or  vices  shown  in  the  letters,  honesty,  sobriety,  in 
dustry,  promoters  of  better  understanding  between  the  races, 
quietness,  respectfulness,  and  charity  of  one  class  of  preachers, 
vie  with  drunkenness,  sexual  looseness,  dishonesty,  ignorance, 
stealing,  fomenting  racial  unrest  and  disregard  of  obligations 
of  the  others.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  these  criticisms  will  renew 
the  zeal  of  the  good  and  correct  some  of  the  faults  of  the  bad 
religious  leaders. 

Schedule  I,  question  three,  found  a  big  majority  of  the 
white  people  without  faith  in  the  religious  life  of  the  Negro. 
Such  expressions  as  the  following  are  characteristic  of  the  an 
swers :  "too  emotional,"  "form  only,"  "have  little  idea  what 
religion  is,"  "do  not  think  religion  has  much  hold  on  the  race," 
"an  inlet  for  good,  an  outlet  for  emotion,  a  field  for  activity," 
"spectacular,"  "religion  only  on  Sunday,"  "comes  by  spells," 
"outward  profession  instead  of  upright  lives,"  "unknown  quan 
tity,"  "little  benefit,"  "spasmodic,"  "not  rational,"  "do  not  fully 
appreciate  what  true  religion  is,"  "little  religion  other  than 
what  is  shown,"  "mostly  superficial,  emotional  and  borders  on 
superstition,"  "better  what  they  have  than  none  at  all."  In 
spite  of  the  overwhelming  majority  of  answers  indicating  a 
low  opinion  of  the  religious  life  of  Negroes,  some  declare  that 
they  believed  that  the  Negroes'  religious  life  was  showing  im 
provement,  while  others  were  frank  to  confess  that  they  did 
not  know. 

Schedule  I,  question  four.  This  question  gave  opportunity 
for  a  wide  expression  of  opinion  and  this  opportunity  was  cer 
tainly  grasped.  A  plurality  of  answers  suggested  better  edu 
cation  for  the  ministry  and  better  education  for  the  pews. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO  171 

While  next  to  education  the  answers  showed  that  some  form 
of  co-operation  or  supervision  on  the  part  of  the  whites  would 
be  the  best  way  to  effect  the  laudable  end  of  bettering  the  Ne 
gro  church.  Fewer  answers  were  received  to  this  question  than 
to  any  other;  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  constructive 
work  was  not  so  popular  as  the  destructive  or  laudatory.  "Too 
deep  for  me,"  "can't  answer  this,"  "cannot  say  how,"  "can 
make  no  suggestion  at  present"  and  many  blank  spaces  show 
further  that  this  matter  has  not  been  considered  important 
enough  for  some  to  form  any  opinion  concerning  it. 

Schedule  I,  question  five.  It  received  an  almost  unanimous 
answer.  It  was  agreed  that  the  Negro  had  been  influential  in 
politics  before  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1901-02  dis 
enfranchised  practically  every  individual  of  the  race,  but  since 
then  the  Negro  has  not  counted  in  politics.  We  have  shown 
exceptions  in  "wet"  and  "dry"  elections  and  in  cases  of  a  close 
vote. 

In  schedule  II  the  Negro  preachers  showed  a  commendable 
spirit  in  answering  the  questions.  Some  of  them  were  afraid 
to  answer  but  most  of  them  showed  great  consideration.  The 
result  of  these  answers  we  shall  now  present. 

Schedule  II,  question  one.  By  computing  the  percentage 
from  the  figures  sent  to  us  we  find  that  the  Negro  preachers 
consider  S6f/c  of  their  members  active.  Some  abnormal  con 
ditions  raise  the  figures  to  this  large  number.  For  instance, 
some  of  the  Episcopal  churches  report  as  high  as  95%  of  their 
members  active.  The  Presbyterian  churches  also  show  a  large 
percentage  of  active  members,  while  some  of  the  large  Baptist 
churches  show  only  25,  33,  and  40  per  cent.  Perhaps  if  returns 
were  had  from  all  the  churches  in  the  State  the  average  would 
be  found  somewhere  near  40  per  cent. 

Schedule  II,  question  two.  Without  exception  the  Negro 
preacher  declared  themselves  in  favor  of  training  their  race  in 
domestic  science,  and  conducting  normal  training  classes  for 
the  Bible  school  work  and  day  school.  Many  of  them  indicate 
that  their  congregations  are  largely  composed  of  "people  in 
service"  and  these  are  especially  interested  in  these  splendid 
educational  features. 


172  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

Schedule  II,  question  three.  The  exhorters  are  considered 
helpful  by  90%  of  the  preachers  and  they  are  commended  for 
their  excellent  lives.  The  remaining  ten  per  cent  declare  that 
the  exhorters  are  ignorant,  immoral  and  in  the  way  of  prog 
ress.  It  seems  that  the  young  college  graduate  finds  it  espe 
cially  difficult  to  change  the  old-style  manner  of  worship  because 
of  these  "big"  members.  In  some  of  the  churches  in  which 
ignorance  is  rampant  the  exhorters  negative  with  their  lives  all 
that  they  proclaim  with  their  lips. 

Schedule  II,  question  four.  About  seventy-five  per  cent  of 
the  answers  to  this  question  state  that  the  worshippers  do  shout 
and  about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  preachers  oppose  shouting. 
Those  ministers  who  do  not  oppose  it  consider  the  shouting 
splendid  when  it  is  "real"  or  "prompted  by  the  Spirit,"  and  the 
hearers  "touched  by  the  word  of  God"  and  "enthusiastic  in 
religion."  Not  all  of  the  churches  offer  much  temptation  to 
their  members  to  shout,  and  the  less  temptation  offered  the  bet 
ter.  We  have  seen  that  the  whites  criticize  the  Negro  religion 
especially  for  its  emotionalism ;  we  have  seen  that  the  whites 
shouted,  too,  in  the  past,  and  a  few  do  yet.  The  sooner  the 
Negroes  cease  making  their  worship  a  spectacle  the  better  for 
the  race.  A  well-trained  minister  will  solve  this  problem  of 
shouting. 

Schedule  II,  question  five.  Much  to  our  surprise  none  of 
the  old  "spirituals"  were  mentioned  in  the  list  of  three  favorite 
songs.  Of  the  favorite  hymns  submitted,  the  first  seven  in  the 
order  of  their  popularity  are :  "Am  I  a  Soldier  of  the  Cross," 
"Amazing  Grace,"  "Nearer  My  God  to  Thee,"  "A  Charge  to 
Keep  I  Have,"  "There  Is  a  Fountain  Filled  with  Blood,"  "Come 
Holy  Spirit,  Heavenly  Dove,"  and  "All  Hail  the  Power  of 
Jesus'  Name." 

Schedule  II,  question  six.  The  fundamental  trouble  in 
church  work  according  to  a  great  majority  of  the  Negro  preach 
ers  is  the  matter  of  properly  financing  the  activities,  or  as  one 
preacher  said,  "to  get  my  people  to  understand  that  God  has 
a  claim  on  our  pocket-book."  "Lack  of  promptness  on  the  part 
of  members  attending  churches,"  "settling  grievances  between 
members,"  "backsliding,"  "unavailing  efforts  to  get  young  peo- 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  173 

pie  interested,"  "difficulty  in  reaching  men,"  "alcoholic  liquors," 
"superstition,"  "lack  of  harmony,"  "keeping  officers  active  and 
making  them  progressive,"  "want  of  Christian  zeal"  and  many 
other  things  are  considered  the  greatest  difficulties  by  different 
preachers.  There  are  undoubtedly  difficulties  enough,  but  the 
statement  of  the  problems  should  be  of  some  advantage  in  at 
tempting  a  solution. 

Schedule  II,  question  seven.  The  universal  suggestion  of 
fered  for  bettering  the  churches  is  a  better  trained  ministry. 
"Good  Sunday-school  teachers,"  "better  choirs,"  "more  intelli 
gent  laity,"  "less  superficiality  and  more  Christianity,  seasoned 
highly  with  thrift,  honesty,  veracity  and  sobriety,"  "emphasis 
on  practical  side  of  life,"  "practical  athletic  Christianity," 
"closer  touch  with  white  people,"  "stimulating  young  people," 
"clubs  to  do  civic  work,"  "not  so  much  stress  on  buildings  and 
more  on  Christian  love"  are  samples  of  the  suggestions  offered 
by  the  Negro  preachers.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  of  these 
suggestions  will  be  adopted  and  the  Negro  church  bettered 
thereby. 

Schedule  three  was  sent  to  the  Negro  laymen.  Their  an 
swers  are  practical  and  reflect  much  credit  upon  those  who 
answered. 

Schedule  III,  question  one.  Only  ten  per  cent  of  the  answers 
found  fault  with  the  conditions  of  their  churches.  Many  were 
enthusiastic  in  sounding  the  praises  of  their  organizations.  The 
overwhelming  loyal  sentiment  of  the  Negroes  to  their  churches 
is  here  shown  to  be  operative. 

Schedule  III,  question  two.  Eighty-eight  per  cent  of  the 
answers  indicate  that  the  Negro  preachers  are  good  men  but 
others  declare  that  not  all  are  good.  The  Negro  laymen  find 
faults  in  the  good  ones  and  some  virtues  in  the  bad  ones.  On 
such  points  their  answers  are  especially  valuable.  "Profligates 
and  libertines,"  "after  money,"  "care  nothing  about  uplift 
work,"  "keep  the  people  ignorant"  and  "opposed  to  internal 
improvement  of  the  people"  are  some  of  the  indictments 
brought  against  the  Negro  preachers  by  the  minority  who  an 
swered.  The  majority  said  that  their  preachers  possessed 
among  others  the  following  virtues :  "have  higher  ideals  than 


174  RELIGIOUS    DKVKLOPMKNT    OF    THE)    NIvGKO 

formerly,"  "are  good,  patient,  earnest,  self-denying  men,"  "good 
will  and  respect  of  the  white  citizens  generally,"  "sober," 
"chaste  and  honest,"  "good  leaders,"  etc. 

Schedule  III,  question  three.  Sixty-six  per  cent  of  the  an 
swers,  concerning  the  interest  of  the  young  people  and  the 
growth  of  Sunday-schools,  affirm  that  the  young  people  are 
interested  and  the  Sunday-schools  steadily  growing.  Much 
concern  is  shown  because  the  older  people  pay  little  attention 
to  the  Sunday-school. 

Schedule  III,  question  four.  Over  ninety  per  cent  of  the 
answers  concerning  sexual  immorality  show  that  it  is  decreas 
ing.  The  Negro's  opinion  concerning  this  matter  and  the  white 
man's  are  entirely  different.  A  better  day  is  in  store  for  the 
Negro  when  he  becomes  ashamed  of  his  excesses,  and  only 
when  that  day  arrives  need  we  expect  any  confidence  to  be 
shown  in  the  Negro's  religion  by  the  wrhite  men.  The  Negroes 
were  much  imposed  upon  during  slavery,  but  this  excuse  will 
not  always  serve  to  cover  a  multitude  of  sins. 

Schedule  III,  question  five.  Missionary  funds,  old  folks' 
homes,  orphan  asylums,  literary  funds,  educational  institutions, 
"poor  saints"  and  the  education  of  ministerial  students  are  the 
foremost  charities  which  engage  the  attention  of  the  Negro 
church  members.  Many  of  the  Negro  worshippers  have  little 
themselves  and  the  large  amounts  which  they  give  for  charit 
able  purposes  are  all  the  more  remarkable  in  the  light  of  their 
economic  standing. 

Schedule  III,  question  six.  This  question  was  answered  by 
the  laymen  exactly  as  the  preachers  answered  it.  See  Schedule 
II,  question  five. 

Schedule  III,  question  seven.  Fully  answered  in  SchecJ- 
ule  II,  question  seven.  The  laymen  lay  less  stress  on  the  need 
of  the  minister,  but  in  all  other  points  in  agreement. 

Public  sentiment  is  certainly  valuable,  and  we  cannot  be 
other  than  exceedingly  grateful  to  the  many  people  who  sacri 
ficed  time  and  thought  to  these  problems.  It  would  have  been 
next  to  impossible  to  write  concerning  the  Negro  without  the 
contributory  evidence  sent  to  us  in  answer  to  the  above  sched- 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  175 

ule  of  questions.  This  information  was  not  doled  out  to  us 
in  bits  or  fragments  but  busy  men  wrote  five,  six  and  seven 
pages  to  give  the  requested  opinions. 

The  much  mooted  question  of  the  relative  religious  status 
of  the  ante-bellum  Negro  and  the  modern  Negro  can  hardly 
be  discussed  yet  because  of  the  lack  of  an  unprejudiced  jury. 
Men  show  doubt  concerning  many  things  when  discussing  the 
Negro  question,  but  no  one  speaks  in  uncertain  tones  when 
this  particular  matter  is  broached.  We  have  never  yet  seen  a 
Southern  white  man  over  sixty  years  of  age  who  believed  that 
the  modern  Negro  was  worthy  even  to  stoop  down  and  un 
loose  the  latchet  of  the  shoes  of  a  good  "old  time  darkey."  We 
have  never  seen  a  venerable  slave  Negro  who  did  not  look  with 
some  disdain  upon  the  "new  fangled"  notions  introduced  into 
the  churches  by  the  "young  set"  whom  they  s.eem  to  regard 
very  often  as  vulgar  upstarts.  We  have  never  seen  a  young, 
educated  Negro  who  failed  to  impress  us  with  a  feeling  that 
he  believed  that  the  old  Negroes  who  advocated  the  hallelujah 
type  of  religion  were  after  all  more  to  be  pitied  than  blamed. 
Exceptions  to  these  observations  undoubtedly  exist,  but  the 
general  rules  will  not  be  disturbed.  The  highest  tenth  among 
the  modern  Negroes  is  perhaps  higher  than  the  highest  tenth 
was  among  the  slave  Negroes,  and  the  lowest  tenth  among  the 
modern  Negroes  is  probably  lower  than  the  lowest  tenth  in 
slavery  days.20  In  fact,  after  all  authorities  have  written  pro 
and  con,  the  only  course  which  one  can  pursue  is  to  state  one's 
personal  judgment  and  endeavor  to  weigh  down  the  almost 
evenly  balanced  scale  with  it. 

The  Negro  has  excellent  prospects  for  his  future ;  it  is  im 
possible  to  argue  that  his  future  is  behind  him.  He  has  ex 
hibited  in  recent  years  too  many  improvements  to  give  counte 
nance  to  the  theory  that  he  is  progressing  backward  instead  of 
forward.  In  spite  of  the  great  effort  put  forth  by  many  char 
itable  white  people  of  the  South ;  in  spite  of  the  almost  parental 
care  shown  by  many  masters ;  in  spite  of  the  interest  in  the 
Negro's  religious  welfare,  we  are  compelled  to  believe  that  the 


20.   Encyclopaedia    Britannica,   Article   on    Negro,    Eleventh    Edition. 


176  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE}    NEGRO 

proportion  of  religious  Negroes  now,  who  live  exemplary  lives 
is  as  great  as  that  attained  at  any  time  during  slavery.  Seeing 
frequently  depends  upon  what  we  are  looking  for.  In  slavery 
days  Southern  men's  eyes  \vere  strained  to  see  the  good  in  their 
servants ;  now,  some  eyes  are  willing  to  see  only  the  bad.  We 
must  remember  that  the  Negro  was  probably  at  his  worst  about 
1890,  one  generation  after  his  release  from  slavery.  In  dis 
regarding  the  Southern  whites  immediately  after  the  War  he 
sowed  the  wind  and  reaped  the  whirlwind.  Their  fathers  ate 
sour  grapes  and  the  children's  teeth  were  set  on  edge.  It  is 
true  that  many  good  individuals  arose  during  slavery  and  are 
now  called  blessed ;  it  is  true  that  the  Negro  was  protected  then 
from  the  evils  of  intemperance ;  it  is  undeniable  that  church 
services  and  Sunday-schools  held  for  Negroes  did  nobly  in  be 
half  of  the  racial  uplift,  yet  the  great  work  of  that  day  was 
that  of  laying  the  foundation  for  the  greater  work  of  their 
future — and  our  present.  Many  modern  Negroes  have  proved 
themselves  unworthy  to  be  recipients  of  so  many  Christian 
labors,  but  many  more  have  shown  by  their  deeds  that  not  one 
iota  of  the  Christian  labors  expended  on  them  has  been  mis 
placed.  The  history  of  our  Commonwealth  is  already  replete 
with  the  stories  of  noble  deeds  and  substantial  progress,  but  if 
some  future  historian  can  confirm  our  judgment  that  the  re 
ligious  development  of  the  Negro  in  Virginia  showed  marked 
advances  even  in  the  period  since  slavery,  we  shall  be  more  than 
happy  in  the  knowledge  that  the  task  of  our  forefathers  did 
not  fall  upon  unworthy  shoulders. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  177 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

The  authorities  given  in  this  list  are  primary  and  by  no  means 
include  the  greater  mass  of  material  which  is  considered  sec 
ondary.  This  Bibliography  does  not  pretend  to  be  a  complete 
bibliography  on  the  Negro  question,  but  includes  only  those 
records  used  in  the  preparation  of  the  foregoing  study. 

MANUSCRIPT. 

A.  County    Court    Records — Orders,  Deeds,  Wills,   Inven 

tories,  etc.,  certified  copies  transcribed  from  the  orig 
inal   records   in   pursuance  of   an   act   of   the   Virginia 
State  Legislature  and  preserved  in  the  Virginia  State 
Library   in   Richmond,   Va. : 
York   County. 
Henrico   County. 

B.  County    Court    Records, — Orders,    Deeds,    Wills,    etc., 

originals. 

Northampton  County  at  Eastville,  Va. 

C.  Parish  Records. 

In  Bruton  Church,  Williamsburg,  Virginia : 
Register   of    Middletown   and   Bruton   Parishes,    1662- 
1797. 

At  Library  of   William  and  Mary   College,   Williams- 
burg,  Va. 

Register  of  Abingdon  Parish,  transcribed  by  Dr.  Lyon 
G.  Tyler. 

D.  Records  of   Friends'   Meetings  at   Park   Avenue   Meet 

ing  House,   Baltimore,   Maryland. 

Minutes  of  Warrenton  and  Fairfax  Quarterly  Meet 
ing,  1776-1787. 

Minutes  of  Warrenton  and  Fairfax  Quarterly  Meet 
ing  of  Women  Friends,  1775-89. 

Minutes  of  Warrenton  Quarterly  Meeting,   1787-1801. 

Minutes   of   Fairfax   Quarterly   Meeting,   1787-1850. 

—13 


178  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO 

Minutes    of    Crooked    Run    Monthly    Meeting,    1782- 

1789. 
Minutes  of  Fairfax  Monthly  Meeting:     1,  1759-1777; 

2,   1777-1791;  3,   1791-1811;  4,   1811-1851. 
Minutes  of  Goose  Creek  Monthly  Meeting,  1785-1818; 

1818-18—. 

E.  Records  of  the  General  Court  of  Virginia,  transcribed 
by  Conway  Robinson,   1640-1661,   1670-1676.     Va.   Hist. 
Society. 

F.  Legislative  Petitions  of  Virginia,  1776-1860. 

These  petitions  constitute  virgin  soil  for  the  historian.  The  acts 
of  the  Assembly  were  powerfully  influenced  by  the  presentation 
of  a  petition  praying  that  certain  things  be  done  or  certain  nui 
sances  be  abated.  The  petitions  were  valuable  in  that  they  let 
the  representatives  in  the  legislature  know  what  their  constitu 
ents  wanted.  The  more  honorable  the  citizens  signing  such  pe 
titions,  the  more  likelihood  of  their  wishes  being  granted.  Sev 
eral  thousand  of  these  petitions  are  preserved  in  the  Depart 
ment  of  Archives  of  the  State  Library  at  Richmond,  Va.  The 
counties  from  Accomac  to  Orange  are  catalogued  in  upright 
filing  cases ;  each  petition  in  a  separate,  stiff  paper  folder. 

G.  Transcripts  from  original  papers  in  the  British  Public 
Record  Office,  London.  By  Angus  W.  MacDonald,  7  vols., 
1619-1695 ;  containing  abstracts  or  complete  transcripts  of  581 
documents  relating  to  the  settlement  and  early  history  of  Vir 
ginia.  By  William  Noel  Sainsbury,  20  vols.  1606-1740;  con 
taining  abstracts  of  5108  documents  relating  to  early  Virginia 
history.  Va.  State  Library. 

LAWS  OF  VIRGINIA. 

1.  Statutes  at  Large  of  Virginia,   13  vols.   1619-1672.     \Yil- 
liam  Waller  Hening.     Richmond,  1819,   1820. 

2.  Statutes  at  Large  of  Virginia,  3  vols.  1792-1807.     Samuel 
Sheppard,  Richmond,  1835-1836. 

3.  Acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia,   1807-1865. 

4.  Codes  of  Virginia. 


RELIGIOUS  DEVELOPMENT  OE  THE  NEGRO  179 

PUBLIC  DOCUMENTS. 

1.  Journals  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,    1727-1776,  8    vols. 
Ed.  H.  R.  Mcllwaine,  1905-10. 

2.  Journals   of   the   House   of   Delegates,     1776-1865.      Rich 
mond. 

3.  Journals  of  the  Senate  of  Virginia.  1778-1865. 

4.  Documents    of    the    House    of    Delegates,    containing    the 
messages  of  the  Governors  to  the  General  Assemblies  and  an 
nual  reports  of  the  public  officers  of  the  State,  and  of  boards 
of  directors,  visitors,  superintendents,  and  other  supervisors  of 
public  institutions  in  Virginia.     1814-1865. 

5.  U.  S.  Census  Volumes,  1860,  1890,  1906. 

ENCYCLOPEDIAS  AND  DIRECTORIES,   MAGAZINES  AND  MINUTES, 

NEWSPAPERS. 

I.  Encyclopaedias  and  Directories. 

A.  Encyclopaedias. 

1.  Encyclopaedia  Brittanica. 

2.  American  Annual  Encyclopaedia. 

B.  Directories. 

1.  Norfolk. 

2.  Richmond. 

II.  Magazines  and  Minutes. 
A.  Magazines. 

1.  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography. 

2.  William  and  Mary  Quarterly. 

3.  Missionary  Review  of  the  World. 

4.  Popular  Science  Monthly. 

5.  Southern  Magazine. 

6.  Educational  Review. 

7.  Methodist  Quarterly  Review. 

8.  Religious  Herald. 

9.  Princeton  Review. 

10.  Southern  Workman. 

11.  Sunday-School  Times. 

12.  Christian  Monthly. 


180  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

B.  Minutes. 

1.  Yearly  Minutes  of  Virginia  Baptist  General  Asso 

ciation   (white). 

2.  Yearly  Minutes  of  Virginia  Baptist   State  Associa 

tion   (negro). 

3.  American  Baptist  Year  Book. 

III.  Newspapers. 

1.  The  Recorder,  Richmond,   1802-1803. 

2.  The  Enquirer,   1804-1864. 

3.  The  Whig,  Richmond. 

4.  Richmond   Times-Dispatch. 

5.  The  Public  'Ledger,  Norfolk. 

6.  The  Ledger-Dispatch,  Norfolk. 

7.  The  Virginian-Pilot  and   Norfolk   Landmark,   Nor 

folk. 

PUBLISHED   PARISH    RECORDS   AND   LOCAL   HISTORIES. 

I.  Parish  Records. 

1.  Burton,  Rev.  L.  W.  History  Henrico  Parish  and  St.  John's 
Church.     Edited  and   Compiled  by  J.    Staunton   Moore,   Rich 
mond,  Va.     1904. 

2.  The      Parish     Register    of      Christ      Church,      Middlesex 
County,  Virginia,   from   1653  to   1812.     Published  by  the  Na 
tional  Society  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  America  in  the  State 
of   Virginia.     Richmond,   1897. 

3.  Register   of    St.    Peter's   Parish,    New   Kent    County,   Vir 
ginia,    1685-1787.      Published   by   the    National    Society   of    the 
Colonial   Dames  of   America   in  the   State  of   Virginia.     Rich 
mond,  1904. 

4.  Slaughter,  Rev.  Philip.     A  History  of  Bristol  Parish,  Va. 
Richmond,  1879. 

5.  Goodwin,  Rev.  W.  A.  R.,    Historical    Sketch    of    Bruton 
Church,   Williamsburg,   Virginia.      Williamsburg,    1903. 

II.  Local  Histories. 

1.  Du  Bois,  W.  E.  B.  The  Negroes  of  Farmville,  Virginia, 
A  Social  Study.  In  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Labor.  Bulletin  No.  14. 
Jan.  1898;  pp.  1-38. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  181 

2.  Forrest,   William   S.     Historical   and   Descriptive   Sketches 
of  Norfolk  and  Vicinity.     Philadelphia,  1853. 

3.  Lossing,   Benson,   J.     The   Home   of   Washington   and   Its 
Association.     New  York.     1866. 

4.  Peyton,    John    Lewis.      History    of    Augusta    County,    Va. 
Staunton,  1882. 

5.  Wise,  Jennings  Cropper.     Ye  Kingdome  of  Accawmacke ; 
or,  The  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  in  the  Seventeenth  Century, 
Rich.    1911. 

6.  Woods,  Rev.  Edgar.     Albemarle  County  in  Virginia,  giv 
ing  some  account    of  what  it  was  by    nature,  of  what    it  was 
made  by  man,  and  of  some  of  the  men  who  made  it.     Char- 
lottesville,  1901. 

BOOKS  AND  PAMPHLETS. 

1.  Adams,   Nehemiah.     A   South-Side  View   of   Slavery;   or, 
Three  Months  at  the  South  in  1854.     Boston,  1854. 

This  book  created  great  interest  in  the  South  since  it  came' 
from  the  pen  of  a  Northern  man  and  substantiated  the  position 
held  by  Southerners  concerning  slavery.  The  facts  cited  are 
given  as  real  observations  and  indicate  that  none  of  the  atroci 
ties  were  commonly  practiced  upon  the  Negroes  as  some  had 
represented.  The  South  found  great  satisfaction  in  this  book 
and  the  anti-slavery  people  much  chagrin. 

2.  Armstrong,  M.  F.  and  Ludlow,  Helen  W.     Hampton  and 
Its  Students.     New  York,  1874. 

This  volume  is  made  up  of  a  number  of  things.  The  early 
history  of  the  School,  stories  concerning  Negroes,  results  of 
the  work  done,  buildings,  and  a  section  of  85  pages  of  music 
are  some  of  the  more  important  features  of  this  book.  It  is  a 
sympathetic  view  of  Hampton  and  the  Negro  which  is  here 
presented. 

3.  Asbury,  Francis.     Journal  of.     3  vols.     New  York,   1852. 
This   Methodist   Bishop   did   eminent   service    for   his   church 

when  the  Methodists  were  merely  gaining  a  foothold  on  this 
continent.  His  observations  concerning  the  people  and  con 
ditions  are  made  on  the  spot  and  prove  the  Bishop  to  be  a  keen 


182  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NIvGRO 

observer.      Like   many   other    Englishmen    he   was   opposed   to 
slavery. 

4.  Atlanta    University    Publications.     Edited    by    W.    E.    B. 
Du  Bois. 

No.     8.  The  Negro  Church. 

No.     9.  Notes  on  Negro  Crime. 

No.  13.  The    Negro    American    Family. 

These  studies  are  parts  of  a  series  which  aims  to  cover  the 
Negro  question  every  decade.  The  works  are  very  valuable 
as  sources  of  information.  They  are  ably  edited  and  have 
many  contributors. 

5.  Ballagh,   J.    C.      History    of    Slavery    in    Virginia.      Johns 
Hopkins   University   Studies.     Extra  vol.,   No.   24.     Baltimore, 
1902. 

The  masterful  treatment  of  his  subject  by  the  author  is  in 
entire  accord  with  the  splendid  work  done  at  Johns  Hopkins. 
The  field  was  immense  and  necessarily  some  matters  were 
touched  lightly.  In  his  fine  understanding  of  the  laws  concern 
ing  slavery  and  in  his  fruitful  suggestion  concerning  the  status 
of  the  first  Negroes  imported,  Dr.  Ballagh  has  shown  himself 
well  qualified  for  the  work  of  a  historian.  His  book  is  filled 
with  interesting  facts. 

6.  Barringer,   P.   B.     The  American   Negro ;   His    Past    and 
Future.     Charlotte,  N.  C.     1900. 

Dr.  Barringer  has  little  belief  in  the  education  of  the  Negro. 
He  picks  out  much  of  the  worst  of  the  Negro's  past  and  has 
little  or  no  confidence  in  the  Negro's  future.  The  pamphlet 
is  interesting  as  an  anti-Negro  tract,  but  shows  no  appreciation 
of  the  later  developments  of  the  race. 

7.  Bassett,   John   Spencer.     The  Constitutional   Beginning  of 
North  Carolina.     Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies.     Twelfth 
Series  VII,  Bait.     1894. 

Dr.  Bassett's  work  is  one  of  those  studies  which  do  so  much 
to  help  the  history  of  a  State.  He  throws  light  on  matters  that 
would  otherwise  be  overlooked.  The  statements  in  his  work- 
are  well  authenticated  by  good  authorities.  His  work  touches 
the  Negro  problem  in  few  places. 


REUGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  183 

8.  Binga,   A.   Jr.      Binga's   Addresses   on    Several   Occasions. 
Reforms  in  Negro  Church  Worship. 

This  address  was  delivered  before  the  Social  Study  Club  of 
the  Virginia  Union  University,  Richmond,  Va.  The  Rev. 
Binga  is  a  Canadian  by  birth  but  has  done  much  for  the  ad 
vancement  of  his  fellow-Negroes  in  the  State  of  his  adoption, 
Virginia.  This  address  shows  that  the  better  Negroes  realize 
the  weaknesses  found  in  their  churches  and  are  making  efforts 
to  eradicate  the  evils.  Valuable  for  its  suggestions. 

9.  Blair,  Lewis  H.     The  Prosperity  of  the  South  Dependent 
upon  the  Elevation  of  the  Negro.     Richmond,  1889. 

This  work  is  highly  laudatory  of  the  Negro.  The  writer  has 
some  reputation  as  a  pamphleteer.  The  economic  argument  is 
now  accepted  by  the  best  Southern  Whites,  but  all  whites  are 
\vary  of  the  social  equality  elevation.  Mr.  Blair  points  out 
some  radical  courses  and  makes  some  dire  promises  in  case  the 
Negro  is  not  elevated. 

10.  Ely  den,  E.  W.     Christianity,  Islam  and  the  Negro  Race. 

This  man  went  to  Africa  as  a  missionary  and  places  the  Ne 
gro  on  high  ground  in  his  writings.  There  is  something  ora 
torical  in  his  style.  The  book  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  essays 
which  are  thoroughly  readable.  They  burn  with  devotion  to  the 
race  and  show  that  the  author  has  had  a  wide  field  upon  which 
to  base  his  observations. 

11.  Bosnian,  J.     Description  of  the  Coast  of  Guinea.     1705. 
The  author  of   this  book    paints  a  very  gloomy    picture  of 

Guinea.  There  was  evidently  much  to  justify  his  painting. 
His  statement  of  marital  conditions  and  the  laxness  of  morals 
is  especially  trenchant.  Many  phases  of  the  Negro's  life  are 
covered  in  the  same  manner. 

12.  Bouldin,  Powhatan.     Home  Reminiscences  of  John  Ran 
dolph  of  Roanoke.     Richmond,  1878. 

The  writer  of  this  book  is  an  able  man  and  his  equipment 
for  the  task  of  collecting  interesting  facts  concerning  John 
Randolph  was  excellent.  He  has  a  charming  style  and  nar 
rates  facts  laughable  and  serious  with  equal  facility.  It  is  en 
tirely  probable  that  some  of  his  stories  may  have  suffered  by 


184  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OE    THE;    NEGRO 

rough  handling  since  Randolph  or  someone  else  spoke  them, 
yet  his  facts  concerning  Randolph's  life  are  thoroughly  reli 
able.  The  volume  makes  delightful  reading  matter. 

13.  Bruce,    P.   A.      Economic    History   of    Virginia.      2   vols. 
N.  Y.  1896. 

This  work  is  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  history  writing  ever 
done  in  Virginia.  The  book  is  so  filled  with  details  as  to  make 
it  heavy  reading  for  any  but  students.  Facts  are  piled  upon 
facts  until  the  least  shadow  of  doubt  concerning  the  author's 
opinion  must  disappear.  The  whole  effect  of  the  work  is  splen 
did.  Money  conditions,  labor,  contracts,  and  many  other  mat 
ters  are  ably  handled. 

14.  Bruce,  P.  A.     Institutional  History  of  Seventeenth  Cen 
tury.     2  vols.     New  York,  1910. 

These  volumes  are  invaluable  to  a  student  of  events  during 
the  Seventeenth  Century.  The  author  was  splendidly  equipped 
for  writing  history  and  worked  prodigiously.  The  books  are 
literally  loaded  with  facts.  So  thoroughly  and  accurately  were 
his  books  written  that  we  dare  say  they  are  worthy  to  be  used 
as  sources.  His  handling  of  the  clergy,  church  and  courts  is 
especially  fine. 

.j  15.  Bruce,  P.  A.  The  Plantation  Negro  as  a  Freeclman. 
New  York,  1889. 

The  style  of  writing  seen  in  this  volume  is  entirely  different 
from  the  volumes  above.  The  short  sentences  of  the  books 
above  are  not  seen  in  this  work.  The  long,  sonorous,  sentences 
with  their  oratorical  sweep  are  now  seen.  The  style  is  sus 
tained;  the  subject  matter  intensely  interesting.  Many  valu 
able  lights  are  shed  on  the  Negro  problem  by  this  book,  since 
the  author  is  an  accurate  observer  who  saw  conditions  before 
and  after.  The  Modern  Negro  suffers  by  his  comparison. 

16.  Burgess,  John  W.  The  Middle  Period.  1817-1858. 
New  York,  1910. 

Dr.  Burgess  is  a  text-book  writer  of  note.  He  has  implicit 
confidence  in  himself  and  "sound  doctrine"  usually  means  his 
own  interpretations  of  events.  He  is  very  fair  in  dealing  with 
the  subject  of  Negroes,  and  is  one  of  the  historians  (now  more 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  185 

numerous)  who  can  see  the  evil  in  men  like  John  Brown  and 
Nat.  Turner.  Though  he  is  a  Northern  writer,  the  South  does 
not  suffer  at  his  hands  when  he  discusses  slavery. 

17.  Butt,   Israel  L.     History  of  African   Methodism  in  Vir 
ginia  or  Four  Decades  in  the  Old  Dominion.     Hampton,   1908. 

The  Negro  writer  of  this  book  is  an  aspiring  black  man.  He 
has  been  championing  the  cause  of  his  race  for  years.  His 
part  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  in  Virginia  is  conspicuous  for 
good.  The  book  is  mainly  made  up  of  A.  M.  E.  Virginia  Con 
vention  Minutes  which  speak  volumes  for  the  betterment  of 
conditions  among  the  leaders. 

18.  Campbell,   Sir   George.     White  and   Black  in  the  United 
States.     New  York,  1879. 

A  good  book  of  travels.  The  author  was  an  Englishman  and 
had  ideas  of  pure  democracy  when  color-line  matters  arose. 
His  ignorance  of  the  Negro  problem  was  shared  by  many  of  his 
countrymen. 

\J  19.  Castleman,  T.  T.  Plain  Sermons  for  Servants.  New 
York,  1853. 

One  of  the  excellent  books  of  sermons  published  for  masters 
to  read  to  their  servants.  The  writer  was  an  Episcopal  clergy 
man  and  turned  out  a  valuable  book.  Its  messages  would  still 
be  beneficial  if  read  to  Negroes. 

20.  Clayton,   Victoria   V.     White   and   Black   under  the   Old 
Regime.     Milwaukee,   1899. 

Mrs.  Clayton  presided  over  a  splendid  Alabama  home.  Her 
duties  as  mistress  on  the  great  plantation  included  oversight  of 
the  religious  exercises  of  the  Negroes.  She,  like  many  Vir 
ginia  ladies,  felt  that  this  task  was  sacred  and  she  performed  it 
with  great  care.  Much  of  the  best  side  of  slavery  can  be  seen 
from  a  casual  reading  of  this  volume. 

21.  Coke,  Thomas.    Extracts  of  the  Journals  of  the  late  Rev. 
Thomas     Coke,     LL.     D. ;   comprising   several    visits   to    North 
America   and   the   West    Indies,    etc.      London,    1793.      Dublin, 
1816. 

This  Methodist  Pioneer  visited  Virginia  frequently  and  bore 


186  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

testimony  against  slavery.  He  was  an  imported  Bishop.  Rev. 
Devereux  Jarratt  aroused  his  ire  especially.  Bishop  Coke 
preached  to  Negroes  frequently  and  his  influence  must  have 
been  in  favor  of  better  conditions  for  Negroes.  He  makes 
many  notes  concerning  people  and  things  of  his  time  which 
now  prove  interesting. 

22.  Cooke,  John  Esten.     American  Commonwealth  Histories 
—Virginia.     Boston,   1883. 

This  volume  is  written  in  a  pleasing  style  but  is  not  strictly 
accurate.  The  author  believed  too  much.  The  historical  dis 
coveries  of  recent  years  have  proved  that  some  of  the  material 
accepted  by  Cooke  is  not  now  to  be  accepted  as  true.  The 
arrangement  of  the  subject  matter  is  excellent. 

23.  Cooke,    John    Esten.       Stonewall    Jackson.       A     Military 
Biography.     With  an  Appendix  by  J.  Wm.  Jones.     New  York, 
1876. 

An  excellent  book  from  a  literary  standpoint.  It  does  not 
receive  the  respect  in  the  military  world  accorded  the  valuable 
treatise  by  the  English  officer,  Henderson.  Rev.  J.  Wm.  Jones 
has  appended  some  valuable  anecdotes  and  has  given  some  in 
sight  into  the  private  character  of  the  great  general. 

24.  Dabney,  Robert  L.     A  Defence  of  Virginia  (and  through 
her  of  the  South),  in  Recent  and  Pending  Contests  against  the 
Sectional  Party.     New  York,  1867. 

A  standard  apology  for  slavery.  This  book  blinded  the  eyes 
of  many  to  any  good  thing  in  the  emancipated  Negroes.  It  is 
a  philosophic  treatise  as  well  as  a  hard,  practical  argument. 
The  chapter  dealing  with  the  ethical  aspect  of  slavery  was  of 
particular  service  in  our  study. 

25.  Davies,  Samuel.     Letters  from   [him]  and  Others;  shew 
ing  the  State  of  RELIGION  in  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  &c. 
PARTICULARLY  among  the  Negroes.     London,   1761. 

A  small  number  of  very  valuable  communications  from  Pres 
byterian  preachers  in  Virginia  to  two  gentlemen  in  London. 
A  great  desire  for  books  on  the  part  of  the  Negroes  of  Vir 
ginia  is  herein  shown ;  also  some  account  of  the  progress  of  the 
Gospel  among  the  blacks. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  187 

26.  Davis,  John.     Travels  of  Four  Years  and  a  Half  in  the 
United  States  of  America  during  1798,   1799,   1800,   1801,  and 
1802.     London,   1803.     Reprint  N.  Y.   1909. 

One  of  the  very  best  books  of  travel.  Davis  was  a  writer 
of  some  note  and  his  eye  eagerly  caught  the  picturesque  things. 
His  style  guarantees  easy  reading.  He  taught  school  for  a 
short  while  in  Virginia  and  his  trained  mind  soon  saw  the 
things  of  interest.  He  did  not  write  about  a  large  area  in  Vir 
ginia,  but  his  work  was  done  well. 

27.  Dowd,  Jerome.    The  Negro  Races.    A  Sociological  Study. 
N.  Y.  1907. 

This  study  is  a  detailed  one  of  three  African  races.  The 
matters  covered  by  the  term  "A  Sociological  Study"  are  quite 
broad  and  varied.  The  family  affairs  there,  being  so  different 
from  ours,  are  matters  of  especial  interest.  Such  keen  anal 
yses  as  the  author  gives  of  conditions  serve  to  put  knowledge 
ahead  of  surmise. 

28.  Drewry,  W.  S.     Slave  Insurrections  in  Virginia.     Wash 
ington,  1900. 

The  main  body  of  the  book  deals  with  the  Southampton  In 
surrection.  The  author  knew  the  country  well,  walked  over 
the  ground,  photographed  places  described  in  his  narrative  and 
gives  a  thoroughly  readable  account  of  the  plot  and  partici 
pants.  He  does  not  attempt  to  do  much  with  the  consequences 
of  the  outbreak. 

29.  Du   Bois,   W.    E.    Burghardt.      The   Philadelphia     Negro. 
Phil.  1899. 

One  of  the  finest  local  studies.  Du  Bois  was  working  under 
the  auspices  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  did  his 
work  thoroughly.  His  schedule  of  questions  for  investigation 
into  home  conditions  are  especially  interesting.  The  conclu 
sions  are  logical  and  fair  and  the  whole  work  a  compliment  to 
its  author. 

30.  Du  Bois,  W.  E.  Burghardt.     The  Souls  of  Black  Folk. 
Chicago,  1909. 

This  book  is  frightfully  pessimistic  in  tone.  The  style  is 
wonderful ;  the  language  beautiful.  No  one  can  read  these  es- 


188  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

says  without  feeling  the  situation  of  the  Negro.  Facts  of  his 
tory  are  not  accurately  stated  but  perhaps  the  author  sacrificed 
history  for  the  music  of  his  words. 

31.  Du  t  Chaillu,     Paul.       Explorations    and    Adventures     in 
Equatorial  Africa.     New  York,  1868. 

Du  Chaillu's  expeditions  are  replete  with  stirring  incidents. 
The  ideas  of  the  natives,  their  general  untrustwqrthiness,  the 
fidelity  of  some,  their  hospitality  or  lack  of  it,  their  modes  of 
living  and  ceremonies  at  their  burials  are  narrated.  It  is  not 
considered  such  a  valuable  work  as  some  of  the  later  explora 
tion  trips. 

32.  Edmundson,  William.     Life,  Journey,  Suffering,  etc.,  of. 
London,   1774. 

The  life  of  this  pioneer  Quaker  shows  him  to  be  an  intrepid 
character.  His  journeys  were  many  and  long,  and  his  suffer 
ings  intense.  The  work  is  interesting  to  those  who  are  study 
ing  religious  pioneers  and  the  causes  they  championed.  Ed 
mundson  did  much  for  the  Negro. 

33.  Ellis,    A.    B.     The  Tshi-Speaking   Peoples   of   the   Gold 
Coast  of  West  Africa.     London,   1887. 

34.  — .     The  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples  of 
the  Slave  Coast  of  West  Africa.     London,  1890. 

35.  -  — .     The    Yoruba-Speaking    Peoples 
of  the  Slave  Coast  of  West  Africa.     London,  1894. 

36.  Ellis,  A.  B.    A  History  of  the  Gold  Coast  of  West  Africa. 
London,  1895. 

Accurate,  discriminating,  detailed  accounts  of  the  peoples 
described.  Ellis  knows  the  land  and  the  people.  His  account 
of  their  religious  lives  opened  up  to  us  many  of  the  secrets 
which  we  could  not  have  understood  without  his  help. 

37.  Evans,    Joshua.     A   Journal   of   the   Life,   Travels,    Re 
ligious  Experiences  and  Labors  in  the  Work  of  the  Ministry. 
Philadelphia,   1837. 

A  good  Quaker  who  served  faithfully.  He  spoke  in  opposi 
tion  to  slavery  in  Virginia.  His  life  was  little  different  from 
that  of  the  other  pioneers. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  189 

38.  Fithian,  Philip  Vickers.     Journal  and  Letters  1767-1774. 
Tutor  at   Nomini   Hall   in   Virginia   1773-74.     Edited   by  John 
Rogers  Williams.     Princeton,  1900. 

One  of  the  most  reliable  accounts  of  things  as  they  were  in 
Virginia.  The  Presbyterian  theologue  is  enchanted  by  the  gai- 
ties  of  Westmoreland  county  life,  yet  feels  that  he  must  not 
give  himself  over  to  them.  His  opinions  were  anti-slavery  and 
it  is  almost  sure  that  the  chatelaine  of  Nomini  Hall  shared  his 
ideas  on  that  subject.  He  points  out  many  interesting  things 
about  the  life  of  this  colony  that  are  not  made  clear  elsewhere. 
His  work  \vas  well  done  and  deserves  the  high  place  usually 
given  it  because  of  its  intimate  view  and  manifest  honesty. 

39.  Fleming,  W.   L.     Civil  War  and  Reconstruction  in  Ala 
bama.     New  York,  1905. 

The  author  of  this  splendid  work  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
foremost  authorities  on  Reconstruction.  His  view  is  an  in 
timate  one  and  his  knowledge  of  details  very  useful  in  shedding 
new  lights  on  a  difficult  period.  The  work  is  written  in  great 
fairness  and  is  one  of  the  valuable  contributions  to  history  in 
recent  years. 

40.  Foote,    Wm.    Henry.      Sketches    of     Virginia,     Historical 
and  Biographical,   Second  Series.     Philadelphia,   1855. 

The  Sketches  by  the  Presbyterian  Foote  are  among  the  most 
important  sources  of  Virginia  history.  There  is  a  mass  of  ma 
terial  in  them  concerning  prominent  men  who  made  Virginia 
what  it  is.  He  relates  many  minor  details,  and  because  of  his 
wide  interests,  the  Negroes  found  a  place  in  his  work.  No  one 
would  think  of  working  in  Virginia  history  without  consulting 
Foote. 

41.  Force,  Peter.     Tracts  and  Other  Papers,  Relating  Prin 
cipally  to  the  Origin,  Settlement  and  Progress  of  the  Colonies 
in   North   America.     4  vols.     Washington,    1836,    1838,     1844, 
1846. 

This  collection  of  old  materials  is  contained  in  four  volumes 
published  separately  per  dates  above.  Virginia  has  a  prominent 
place  in  any  good  work  dealing  with  all  the  colonies  and  Force's 
Tracts  are  not  exceptions.  Maryland  also  finds  a  prominent 


190  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NI>GRO 

place.  The  part  dealing  with  Virginia  gives  such  papers  as 
Virginia's  Cure,  Leah  and  Rachel  and  others.  It  is  mostly 
economic  in  its  scope. 

42.  Friends,    Discipline   of   the   Yearly    Meeting   of,   Held   in 
Baltimore.      Printed   by   direction   of   the   meeting   held   in   the 
year  1806.     A  revision  1821.     Baltimore. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  was  the  governing  body  of  the  Friends 
in  a  district  covered  by  such  meeting.  The  Discipline  is  the 
body  of  Church  laws  governing  the  Quakers. 

43.  Godwyn,   Morgan.     The  Negro's  and   Indians   Advocate. 
Suing  for  their  Admission  into  the  Church.     London,  1680. 

44.  -  —.A   Supplement  to  the  Negroes  and  In 
dians  Advocate ;  or.  Some  further  Considerations  and  proposals 
for  the  effectual  and  speedy  carrying  on  of  the  Negro's  Chris 
tianity  in  our  Plantations    (notwithstanding  the  late  pretended 
Impossibilities)    without  any  prejudice  to  their  Owners.     Lon 
don,  1681. 

These  pamphlets  are  very  valuable  as  illustrations  of  the 
views  of  some  writers  concerning  the  Negro  question  during 
the  17th  century.  The  papers  also  show  something  of  the  re 
ligious  life  of  the  times.  The  writer  was  a  Virginia  parson, 
must  have  known  his  subject  matter  from  his  o\vn  observations, 
and  wrote  in  an  academic  style. 

45.  Goodell,  William.     The  American  Slave  Code  in  Theory 
and  Practice:     Its  distinctive  features  shown  by  its  statutes,  ju 
dicial  decisions,  and  illustrative  facts.     New  York,  1853. 

The  viewpoint  of  this  book  is  that  of  opposition  to  slavery. 
A  Negro  who  reads  this  book  would  note  the  many  unfortunate 
conditions  entailed  by  slavery  without  finding  any  of  the  com 
pensating  features  of  slavery  mentioned.  It  is  not  an  impartial 
statement  of  the  case,  but  is  a  brief  for  the  plaintiff  without 
any  consideration  of  the  defendant's  position. 

46.  Harrison  and  Barnes.     The  Gospel  among  the  Slaves.     A 
Short  Account  of  Missionary  Operations  among  the  Slaves  of 
the  Southern  States.     Nashville,  Tenn.,  1893. 

The  title  tells  just  what  the  book  does.  The  sources  of  this 
book  were  often  originals  and  all  the  matter  that  went  into  it 


REUGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  191 

was  carefully  weighed.  It  keeps  chronology  in  view  while  stat 
ing  the  subject  matter  forcefully. 

47.  Haygood,  Attictis,  G.     Our  Brother  in  Black.     1881. 
Our  Brother  in  Black  has  become  an  expression  frequently  on 

the  lips  of  those  favoring  some  adjustment  of  the  Negro  ques 
tion  which  gives  the  Negro  a  chance.  The  address  by  Bishop 
Haygood  gave  the  title  currency  and  his  insistent  urging  that 
white  men  share  the  burdens  borne  by  the  blacks  has  not  been 
in  vain.  The  above  is  filled  with  sane,  sound  advice  to  whites 
and  blacks. 

48.  Hotten,  John   Camden.     Original   Lists   of   Emigrants   to 
the  American  Plantations   1600-1700.     From  MSS.     Preserved 
in  the  State  Paper  Dept.  of  Her  Majesty's  Public  Record  Office, 
England.     N.  Y.  1874. 

The  knowledge  of  the  numbers  of  the  first  settlers  can  be  ver 
ified  by  consulting  this  work.  The  work  gives  the  musters  of 
the  plantations  which  showed  the  number  of  Negroes  present  in 
the  colonies  in  1674-5.  This  book  is  especially  valuable  because 
of  that  census. 

49.  Howison,  R.  R.     A  History  of  Virginia  from  its  Discov 
ery  and  Settlement  by  Europeans  to  the  Present  Time.     2  vols. 
Richm'd.    1848. 

These  volumes  are  interesting  and  were  written  by  a  man  of 
sound  learning.  His  style  of  composition,  however,  was  that  in 
vogue  before  the  war,  viz.  the  discursive.  Judged  by  the  his 
torical  canons  of  the  present,  the  work  is  found  wanting  in 
places.  In  olden  days  writers  of  history  too  frequently  wrote 
down  what  they  heard  without  carefully  testing  the  truth  of  the 
statements  recorded. 

50.  Jackson,  Mary  Anna.     Life  of  General  Thomas  J.  Jack 
son.     N.  Y.     1891. 

An  account  of  the  life  of  a  man  such  as  his  wife  would  be  ex 
pected  to  write.  It  gives  many  intimate  ideas  of  Jackson's  home 
life.  It  does  not  pretend  to  be  a  military  biography.  Very  val 
uable  for  our  purposes. 


192  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE   NEGRO 

51.  Jefferson,  Thomas.     Works.     Memorial  Edition.     Wash 
ington,  1903. 

The  contributions  of  this  prominent  American  to  the  history 
of  our  country  make  his  writings  especially  valuable.  His  ad 
vanced  views  concerning  the  Negro  were  considered  radical. 
His  large  acquaintance  with  men  and  things  and  his  versatility 
make  his  writings  seem  something  like  a  source  book. 

52.  Jones,  Hugh.     The  Present  State  of  Virginia.     London, 
1724. 

A  very  rare  book  which  deals  with  economics  in  early  Vir 
ginia  history.  The  descriptions  deal  in  part  with  the  religious 
welfare  of  the  Colonists  but  mainly  with  matters  which  make 
for  present  existence. 

53.  Kennard,     Richard.       History    of     the     Gilfield     Baptist 
Church  of  Petersburg,  Va. 

The  Negro  Church  described  above  has  had  a  very  long  his 
tory.  The  clerk  of  the  church  searched  the  old  records  and 
talked  with  old  members  until  he  gathered  the  materials.  His 
book  has  no  surprising  features,  but  is  a  plain,  unvarnished  nar 
rative  of  happenings  in  that  religious  body. 

54.  Kingsley,  Mary.    Travels  in  West  Africa.     London,  1897. 

55.  -  — .     West   African   Studies.     London,    1899. 
Written  in  attractive  style,  one  would  hardly  have  to  guess 

that  these  books  were  written  by  a  woman.  Miss  Kingsley  is  an 
English  lady  and  her  contact  with  African  life  in  Africa  is 
charmingly  embodied  in  her  books.  She  writes  things  as  she 
sees  them ;  not  as  other  books  see  them. 

56.  Lee,  Elizabeth.     Virginia:     Past  and  Present. 

Little  other  than  a  sketch  of  a  good  minister  and  some  sug 
gestions  for  helping  the  Negroes  by  taking  a  personal  interest  in 
them.  The  pamphlet  is  entertainingly  written. 

57.  Leigh,    Benjamin    Watkins.       Virginia    Slavery    Debate. 
Rich.  1832. 

Nine  speeches  and  the  Letter  of  Appomattox  to  the  people  of 
Virginia  are  contained  in  this  volume.  The  future  of  slavery  in 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO  193 

Virginia  was  hanging  in  the  balance  while  the  great  debate  of 
1831-2  raged.  This  volume  contains  some  of  the  best  speeches 
and  an  able  letter. 

58.  Lyell,  Charles.     F.  R.   S.     Travels  in  the  United   States 
—Second  Visit.     2  vols.     New  York,  1868. 

The  observations  of  a  distinguished  English  gentleman.  Ge 
ology  finds  much  space  in  his  description.  Some  interesting  ac 
counts  of  persons  as  Englishmen  saw  them  through  the  glasses 
of  assumed  superiority. 

59.  McConnell,  John  Preston.     Negroes  and  Their  Treatment 
in  Virginia  from  1865  to  1867.     Pulaski,  Va.,  1910. 

This  splendid  intensive  study  is  based  largely  on  Newspaper 
accounts  during  the  period  described.  Dr.  McConnell  brings  or 
der  out  of  the  chaos  of  misinformation  connected  with  that  time. 
His  directness  of  attack  and  clearness  of  statement  cause  his 
points  to  be  concise  and  well-understood. 

60.  McGuire,  Judith  W.     Diary  of  a  Southern  Refugee  dur 
ing  the  War.     New  York,  1867.    Richmond,  Va.     1889. 

Airs.  McGuire  had  no  idea  that  this  diary  would  ever  be  pub 
lished.  She  was  a  Southern  lady  who  wrote  perfectly  naturally 
during  the  War  and  later  resolved  to  allow  her  writings  to  be 
published.  Sorrow  is  expressed  at  Southern  defeats,  joy  at 
their  victories  ;  the  attempt  of  the  people  left  at  home  to  carry 
on  things  as  they  were  left,  is  shown. 

61.  McTyeire,  H.  N.     History  of  Methodism:     comprising  a 
Mew  of  the  Rise  of  this  Revival  of  Spiritual  Religion  in  the 
First  Half    of  the  Eighteenth    Century  and  of    the    Principal 
Agents  by  whom  it  was  Promoted  in  Europe  and  America ;  with 
some  account  of  the  Doctrine  and  Policy  of  Episcopal  Method 
ism  in  the  United  States,  and  the  means  and  manner  of  the  Ex 
tension  down  to  A.  D.  1884.    Nashville,  Tenn.,  1884. 

A  Southern  account  of  the  split  in  the  Methodist  Church.  In 
cidentally  the  emphasis  is  laid  on  work  for  Negroes  whenever 
the  opportunity  affords.  A  valuable  church  history  by  a  schol 
arly  writer  and  a  distinguished  man. 

—13 


194  RELIGIOUS    DEVKUH'MKNT    OF    THE    XKGRO 

62.  Meacle,  William.     Old  Churches,  Ministers  and  Families 
of  Virginia.     2  vols.     Philadelphia,  1861. 

The  knowledge  of  persons  and  events  which  Bishop  Meade 
had  mastered  demanded  that  his  works  he  highly  esteemed.  lie 
was  mature  when  the  great  slavery  adjustment  measures  of 
1831-2  were  heing  discussed,  and  his  frequent  conversations 
with  people  of  many  sorts  in  different  parts  of  this  Common 
wealth  gave  him  excellent  opportunities  to  know  public  opinion. 
His  work  is  invaluable  for  genealogists,  church  historians  and 
students  of  the  relationships  between  church  and  state.  These 
books  are  ecclesiastical  histories  in  fact.  The  Bishop  was  al 
most  a  Puritan,  and  his  strictures  were  perhaps  harsher  than 
any  arguments  that  the  opponents  of  the  church  brought.  Mis 
comments  on  the  Negro  are  few  in  number,  but  illustrate  some 
important  phases  of  the  question. 

63.  -  — .      Sketches  of   Old   Virginia   Family   Servants. 
Phil.  1847. 

This  interesting  volume  was  written  by  a  granddaughter  of 
General  Thomas  Nelson,  and  edited  by  Bishop  Meade.  The 
fine  old  Negroes  described  so  vividly  in  this  book  serve  to  keep 
alive  the  memory  of  a  species  soon  destined  to  become  extinct. 
The  author  is  intimately  acquainted  with  the  characters  de 
scribed.  Many  of  the  finer  relationships  between  masters  and 
servants  are  here  narrated. 


64.  Mitchell,  Joseph.     Missionary   Pioneer — Memoir  of  John 
Stewart.     New  York,  1827. 

The  narrative  of  a  Virginia  Negro  who  left  this  State  and 
eventually  worked  as  missionary  among  the  Indians  in  <  )hio. 
No  startling  tales,  but  an  account  of  a  good  life  and  its  benefi 
cial  influences. 

65.  Montgomery  Conference.     Proceedings  of     1900. 

A  great  body  of  distinguished  Southerners  gathered  at  Mont 
gomery  to  discuss  the  Negro  question  from  an  unprejudiced, 
scholarly  view-point.  Fine  suggestions  were  given  and  some 
knotty  problems  raised  for  discussion.  The  papers  delivered 
are  thoughtful  and  cannot  be  overlooked  by  students  of  the  Ne 
gro  question. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  195 

66.  Moorland,  Jesse  E.     The  Demand  and  the  Supply  of  In 
creased  Efficiency  in  the  Negro  Ministry.     In  American  Negro 
Academy  Papers  No.  13. 

A  very  timely  pamphlet  on  a  very  important  subject.  The 
remedies  for  present  evils  in  the  Negro  ministry  are  suggested. 
The  article  was  not  intended  to  be  historical.  It  is  rilled  with 
the  kind  of  suggestions  that  will  solve  many  of  the  Negro's  re 
ligious  problems. 

67.  Munford,  B.  B.     Virginia's  Attitude  toward  Slavery  and 
Secession.     New  York,  1909. 

A  long-looked  for  book.  The  world  had  heard  only  one  side 
of  the  story  and  Col.  Munford  told  the  other.  The  world  heard 
his  story,  too.  The  author's  preparation  for  his  work  was  ade 
quate  to  every  need.  As  a  man  prominent  in  Virginia  affairs  he 
proves  the  kindly  interest  of  former  prominent  Virginians  in 
their  slaves.  Col.  Munford  has  a  thesis  to  prove  and  overlooks 
the  immorality  curse  of  slavery.  His  book  abounds  in  citations. 

68.  Murphy,  Edgar  Gardner.     The  present  South.     A  discus 
sion  of  certain  of  the  educational,  industrial,  and  political  issues 
in  the  Southern  States.     New  York,  1904. 

No  man  has  written  with  larger  vision  concerning  the  Negro 
than  Edgar  Gardner  Murphy.  His  luminous  sentences  and  clear 
thinking  impress  all  who  read  his  books.  Mr.  Murphy's  inter 
ests  were  cosmopolitan.  Perhaps  his  book  is  the  best  on  the 
problem  which  has  yet  appeared. 

69.  Odum,  Howard  W.     Social  and  Mental  Traits  of  the  Ne 
gro.     N.  Y.  1910. 

We  would  put  few7  books  on  a  level  with  this  as  a  statement 
of  things  as  they  are  among  Negroes  in  the  South.  The  author 
writes  interestingly  and  gives  more  details  than  the  ordinary 
writer  gives  facts.  For  a  knowledge  of  actual  conditions  among 
the  middle  and  lower  masses  this  book  has  no  equal.  It  gives 
scant  acknowledgment  to  the  better  class  of  Negroes. 

70.  Olmsted,    Frederick    Law.     A  Journey   in  the   Seaboard 
Slave  States.     New  York,  1863. 

One  of  the  best  known  books  on  conditions  in  the  South  prior 
to  the  War.  Unfortunatelv  the  author  was  a  bit  biased.  Cer- 


196  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

tainly  he  was  not  so  biased  as  some  other  travellers,  but  his 
bias  was  all  the  more  regrettable  because  of  his  supposed  fair 
ness.  His  eye  saw  everything  it  seemed.  His  minute  account 
of  the  conditions  among  Negroes  is  very  valuable  except  for  the 
slight  bias. 

71.  Page,  Thomas  Nelson.     The  Old   Dominion.     Plantation 
Edition.     New  York,  1909. 

A  thoroughly  interesting  collection  of  essays  dealing  with  fea 
tures  of  life  under  the  old  regime.  Dr.  Page  is  perfectly  at 
home  when  writing  on  this  subject.  In  none  of  his  other 
works  does  he  appear  so  intensely  a  Virginian  and  an  upholder 
of  Virginia's  place  in  history.  The  style  is  that  so  widely 
known  graceful  expression  characteristic  of  the  author's  works. 
This  book  is  social  history. 

72.  Page,    Thomas    Nelson.      The    Negro    the    Southerner's 
Problem.     New  York,  1904. 

Dr.  Page  has  had  experiences  with  a  splendid  type  of  Negro 
in  the  times  when  many  of  the  ante-bellum  Negroes  were  the 
warm  friends  of  their  masters.  In  later  years  his  point  of 
contact  has  almost  entirely  disappeared  and  he  in  all  probability 
saw  intimately  only  the  trifling  domestics  and  laborers.  He 
eulogizes  the  old-time  Negro,  sees  little  good  in  the  present- 
day  Negro  and  perhaps  is  unjustified  in  some  of  his  prophecies 
which  indicate  a  distrust  in  the  future  of  the  Negro.  This  book 
is  charmingly  written  and  will  fit  the  views  of  all  men  ac 
quainted  with  the  better  features  of  the  old  regime. 

73.  Parsons,  C.  G.     Inside  View  of  Slavery.     1855. 

This  book  presents  a  one-sided  view  of  slavery  conditions  as 
seen  by  a  man  who  was  looking  for  flaws.  No  one  could  deny 
that  glaring  defects  stood  out  in  the  system  of  slavery,  yet  it 
is  unfair  to  present  only  one  side  of  the  matter.  This  book  is 
anti-slavery. 

74.  Perry,  Wm.   Stevens.     Historical  Collections  Relating  to 
the   American    Colonial    Church — Virginia.      Privately    printed. 
1870. 

Many  historical  documents  are  found  here  that  are  not  found 
in  other  books.  Dealings  with  the  Bishop  of  London  which 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OE    THE    NEGRO  197 

are  especially  valuable  are  found  here  and  these  throw  inter 
esting  lights  on  the  early  religious  situation  in  Virginia.  The 
correspondence  with  the  Bishop  and  a  few  other  documents 
deal  with  the  Negro  on  his  religious  side.  The  value  of  this 
work  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 

75.  Pollard,  E.  A.     Black  Diamonds ;  gathered  in  the  darkey 
homes  of  the  South.     New  York,  1859. 

A  book  of  letters  supposed  to  have  been  written  to  a  friend 
in  the  North.  It  is  a  thoroughly  Southern  view.  The  letters 
are  well-written  and  give  light  on  the  problem  of  the  health 
and  housing  of  the  Negro.  The  religious  references  note  only 
the  best  old-time  darkeys. 

76.  Pulszky,     Francis     and    Theresa.      White,   Red,    Black- 
Sketches  of  American  Society  in  the  United  States  during  the 
Visit  of  their  Guests.     New  York,   1853. 

A  book  of  travels.  We  know  of  no  distinction  which  it  could 
possibly  claim.  Its  references  to  the  Negro  are  meagre,  but 
worthy  of  notice.  Few  foreigners  understood  the  slavery  ques 
tion  as  it  existed  in  Virginia  and  these  follow  the  rest  in  their 
prepossessions. 

77.  Quaker     Pamphlets.      In    Park   Avenue     Meeting   House 
Library,  Baltimore,  Md. 

A  miscellaneous  collection  of  pamphlets  dealing  with  events 
in  which  the  Quakers  were  prominent  participants.  A  few 
deal  with  the  Missionary  activities  among  the  Negroes  after 
the  War. 

78.  Religion :     A   Narrative  of   the   Revival   of   in   Virginia  : 
London,  1779. 

This  book  contains  letters  and  especially  the  long  letter  of 
Rev.  Devereux  Jarratt  on  the  above  subject.  It  shows  that 
Rev.  Mr.  Jarratt  was  a  friend  to  the  Methodists  and  gives  an 
intimate  account  of  the  great  religious  awakening  of  1776,  as 
noted  by  one  who  was  a  chief  participant.  We  learn  from  this 
volume  that  the  Negro  was  by  no  means  entirely  neglected  in 
those  days. 


198  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

79.  Roche foucault,  Duke  de  la  Liancourt.     Travels  Through 
the  United  States  of  North  America,  Canada,  etc.,  in  the  Years 
1795,  1796  and  1797.    4  vols.  London,  1800. 

The  observations  of  a  famous  Frenchman  in  America.  He 
is  of  the  Nobility  and  finds  many  things  disappointing  in  our 
country.  His  four  large  volumes  cover  many  features  of  our 
national  existence.  He  touches  the  Negro  question  more  on 
the  economic  side  than  on  any  other.  These  books  of  travels 
are  standard. 

80.  Royall,     Wm.     L.      History    of    Virginia's    Debt    Contro 
versy,  or  The  Negro's  vicious  influence  in  politics.     Richmond, 
1897. 

The  writer  was  a  lawyer  and  took  an  active  part  in  the 
events  he  describes.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  prejudices,  and 
Mahone  and  the  Devil  seemed  to  look  alike  in  his  eyes.  Since 
the  Negroes  followed  Mahone  in  such  great  numbers,  we  need 
not  expect  the  Negroes  to  receive  encomiums  from  him. 

81.  Russell,  John.     The  Free  Negro  in  Virginia.     1619-1865. 
Johns     Hopkins     University     Studies.      Series     31.      Baltimore, 
1913. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  dissertation  in  years.  Dr.  Rus 
sell,  although  a  young  man,  wrote  with  a  sureness  of  touch 
characteristic  of  an  older  writer.  He  has  shown  complete  mas 
tery  of  his  subject,  has  divided  his  book  into  suitable  divisions 
and  has  contributed  much  to  Virginia  history.  His  knowledge 
of  his  sources  was  profound  and  his  citations  timely  and  ap 
propriate.  Indispensable  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  Negro 
problem  before  the  war.  Accurate  and  worthy  of  a  much  fuller 
comment. 

82.  Schoepf,   Johann   David.     Travels   in   the   Confederation. 
Translated   and   edited   by   Alfred   J.    Morrison.      Philadelphia, 
1911. 

The  Schoepf  Travels  rank  high  among  that  type  of  litera 
ture.  The  affected  superiority  of  some  observers  and  their 
superficiality  are  notably  absent  from  this  book.  His  work 
was  done  long  ago,  but  its  spirit  was  that  of  a  modern  investi 
gator. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE)    NEGRO  199 

83.  Semple,  R.  B.     A  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of 
the  Baptists  in  Virginia.     Richmond,   1810. 

A  splendid  book  written  by  a  reliable  writer.  Semple  was 
not  perfect,  yet  he  had  a  fine  historical  eye  for  a  man  of  his 
time.  Much  of  the  material  in  Semple  has  no  counterpart  else 
where  and  we  are  compelled  to  rely  on  him,  or  throw  away 
such  facts.  His  work  is  much  used  as  a  source. 

84.  Slaughter,     Philip.      Virginia     History     of     Colonization. 
Rich.    1855. 

The  Colonization  Society  work  was  looked  to  as  a  possible 
relief  from  the  evils  of  the  slavery  system.  Bushrod  Washing 
ton,  Bishop  Meade,  and  other  prominent  men  gave  of  their 
time  and  money  in  order  that  the  free  Negroes  of  Virginia 
might  be  given  a  home  in  Africa.  The  Negroes  did  not  want 
to  go  and  the  Society  did  not  fulfill  the  designs  of  its  incor- 
porators.  Rev.  Mr.  Slaughter's  work  gives  an  insight  into  the 
high  motives  which  inspired  the  Virginians  to  endeavor  to 
solve  the  race  problem  by  colonization. 

85.  Smedes,     Susan     Dabney.       Memorials     of     a     Southern 
Planter,  Baltimore,  1888. 

The  life  of  a  notable  Southern  gentleman  is  here  described. 
Few  characters  show  many  points  of  superiority  over  that  of 
Col.  Thomas  Dabney.  His  high  motives,  consideration  for 
others  and  care  to  do  his  duty  and  even  more,  mark  him  as  a 
fine  type  of  manhood.  The  slaves  under  the  best  masters  find 
representation  in  this  book.  It  does  not  deal  with  the  evils  of 
slavery  because  they  were  not  present  on  the  plantation  that 
the  author  describes. 

86.  Stanley,    H.    M.     Through   the   Dark   Continent.     2   vols. 
N.  Y.   1878.' 

The  thrilling  dash  of  Stanley  into  the  Jungles  of  Africa  to 
find  Livingstone  on  a  commission  from  James  Gordon  Bennett 
of  the  New  York  Herald  is  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  older 
people.  Stanley  went  a  long  distance  and  wrote  out  his  ob 
servations.  His  work  has  never  received  the  acceptance  ac 
corded  some  of  the  more  painstaking  studies  of  African  life. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

87.  Taylor,   Jas.    B.      Lives   of    Virginia    Baptist    Ministers 
Rich.  1837. 

A  book  of  biographies  of  prominent  Baptist  preachers. 
Serviceable  to  us  because  of  the  large  space  devoted  to  the  Ne 
gro  Missionary,  Lott  Carey.  This  gives  an  insight  into  re 
ligious  conditions  of  the  first  third  of  the  Nineteenth  and  part 
of  the  Eighteenth. 

88.  Thomas,   Wm.   Hannibal.     The   American   Negro       New 
York,  1901. 

The  Negro  Thomas  is  radical.  He  cuts  and  slashes  his  own 
race  without  just  provocation  at  times.  He  has  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  slum  Negroes  and  presents  that  without  re 
gard  for  the  better  type  of  Negro.  We  strongly  suspect  that 
he  expected  to  curry  favor  with  the  whites  by  conceding  so 
much  to  the  detriment  of  his  race.  His  broad-mindedness  be 
comes  historical  laxness. 

89.  Tillinghast,  Joseph  Alexander.     The  Negro  in  Africa  and 
America.      Publication     of     Am.     Economic     Association.      3d. 
Series,  vol.  III.    No.  2.     New  York,   1902. 

The  painstaking  work  done  on  the  above  book  gives  some 
idea  of  the  seriousness  with  which  the  Negro  problem  is  now 
attacked.  This  work  is  rather  pessimistic  concerning  the  fu 
ture  of  the  Negro  and  recounts  most  of  the  discouraging  things 
of  his  past.  The  author  credits  the  Negro  with  little  capacity 
to  ever  do  much.  The  work  expresses  the  sentiments  of  the 
great  majority  of  white  people,  we  believe. 

90.  Tupper,   H.   A.,  Editor.     The   First  Century  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Richmond,  Virginia.     Richmond,  1880. 

A  number  of  the  more  eminent  members  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  presented  some  very  valuable  papers  at  the  Centennial 
of  that  Church.  The  papers  were  embodied  in  a  book.  Many 
historical  facts  may  be  gleaned  from  this  volume.  It  is  one 
of  the  best  church  histories  published  in  Virginia. 

91.  Washington,   Booker,   T.     The   Future   of   the   American 
Negro.     Boston,   1899. 

A  typical  Washington  book.     He  sees  a   roseate   future   for 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  201 

the  Negro  by  the  pathway  paved  with  golden  dollars.  He  tells 
many  interesting  incidents,  and  sustains  the  attention  of  the 
reader.  His  predictions  are  not  radical  and  ideas  of  racial 
amalgamation  he  wisely  leaves  unmentioned. 

92.  Washington,  Booker  T.     Up  from  Slavery.     New  York, 
1901. 

This  autobiography  is  a  volume  which  gives  an  insight  into 
the  life  of  the  leading  A  fro- American  in  this  country.  Booker 
Washington  is  a  Virginia-born  Negro  and  his  useful  career 
has  demonstrated  that  he  has  a  marked  talent  for  leadership. 
This  book  is  eagerly  sought  by  the  oppressed  all  over  the  world 
and  has  proved  an  inspiration  to  many.  The  knowledge  of 
Negro  life  and  conditions  and  the  broad-minded  way  of  deal 
ing  with  them  commends  such  a  work  to  the  student  of  the 
latter  half  of  the  Nineteenth  Century. 

93.  Washington,  Booker  T.  and  W.  E.  Burghardt  Du  Bois. 
''The  Negro  in  the  South,  his  economic  progress  in  relation  to 
his   moral  and  religious   development ;   being  the  William   Levi 
Bull  lectures  for  1907."     Philadelphia,  1907. 

These  lectures  are  well  worded  and  show  the  contrast  be 
tween  Washington  and  Du  Bois.  Washington  is  conservative, 
shrewd,  an  allayer  of  racial  discord  and  an  advocate  of  manual 
labor ;  Du  Bois  is  radical,  brilliant,  an  insister  on  rights  and 
recognition,  and  one  of  the  staunchest  supporters  of  the  book- 
trained  Negro.  Both  see  the  absolute  need  of  better  economics 
in  the  lives  of  Negroes  and  both  ardently  advocate  property 
ownership  for  its  moral  value  as  well  as  for  its  economic. 

94.  Weather  ford,   W.    D.      Negro   life   in   the    South.      New 
York,  1911. 

Dr.  Weatherford's  book  did  more  to  stir  college  men  to  the 
importance  of  the  Negro  question  than  any  other  single  vol 
ume.  He  writes  burning  words  and  really  feels  that  he  has  a 
great  task  to  perform  in  presenting  his  ideas.  He  writes  en 
tertainingly  and  covers  the  whole  question  in  his  book.  Of 
course,  none  of  his  work  can  be  carried  as  far  as  a  scholar 
would  desire  because  of  a  lack  of  space.  His  great  work  was 


202  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

to  stir  others  to  study  the  problem.     His  book  is  a  valuable  ad 
dition  to  the  volumes  published  on  the  subject. 

95.  Weld,  Theodore  D.     American   Slavery  as   It   Is ;  Testi 
mony  of  a  Thousand  Witnesses.     New  York,   1839. 

Perhaps  the  most  radical  indictment  of  slavery.  The  book 
was  published  by  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society  and  many 
expatriated  Southerners  contributed  the  most  radical  stories 
of  atrocities  imaginable.  Insane  men  were  always  in  the  South, 
but  it  is  a  mark  of  insanity  to  think  that  all  people  here  were 
insane.  The  treatment  of  Negroes  as  stated  in  this  book  was 
the  exception  and  not  the  rule.  The  book  is  not  to  be  taken 
seriously. 

96.  Wheatley,  Phyllis.     Her  Poems. 

An  excellent  little  volume  of  poems  by  a  Negro  girl  who  was 
a  slave  in  Massachusetts  and  later  was  freed  by  her  master. 
The  work  cannot  approach  the  excellence  of  the  poetry  writ 
ten  by  Paul  Lawrence  Dunbar,  yet  it  is  wonderful  poetry  for 
a  Negro  slave  of  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

97.  White,  William  S.     The  African  Preacher — an  Authentic 
Narrative.     Philadelphia,   1849. 

The  Ante-Bellum  Negro  at  his  best  is  here  represented.  No 
one  can  read  this  profound  statement  of  the  homely  virtues  of 
a  good  man  without  feeling  that  slavery  had  its  good  features 
as  well  as  bad.  It  is  a  personal  narrative,  written  with  full 
knowledge  of  the  character  described. 

98.  White,   William    S.      William    S.    White,   D.    D.  and   His 
Times — An  Autobiography.     Edited  by  his  son,  H.   M.  White. 
Richmond,  Va.   1891. 

A  man  of  great  power  in  the  Presbyterian  ministry  gives 
some  of  the  important  events  with  which  he  was  acquainted. 
Rev.  Mr.  White  was  pastor  of  the  church  in  Lexington  that 
"Stonewall"  Jackson  attended  and  he  was  a  leader  in  work  for 
Negroes.  A  valuable  autobiography. 

99.  Williams,  Geo.  W.     History  of  the  Negro  Race  in  Amer 
ica.     New  York,  1882. 

The  Negro  who  wrote  this  book  covered  a  tremendous  field 


RELIGIOUS    DKVIvLOPMENT    OF    THE    NKGRO  203 

and  it  need  cause  no  surprise  that  he  allowed  inaccuracies  to 
creep  in,  and  omitted  much.  The  surprise  is  that  he  covered 
the  field  so  well.  The  writer  is  a  talented  representative  of  his 
race  and  has  done  a  great  work  for  his  race.  He  overlooks 
much  of  the  good  of  slavery  for  the  sake  of  blaming  its  wrongs. 
His  history  is  suggestive  of  better  work  for  the  future  on  the 
same  subject.  Its  spirit  is  modern. 

100.  Woolman,  John.  Life  and  Travels  of.  Philadelphia, 
1774. 

The  lives  of  the  pioneers  require  little  comment.  They  are 
romantic  enough  to  thrill  one  and  dramatic  enough  to  prove 
that  the  roles  they  acted  required  masters.  The  autobiography 
of  this  Friend  is  one  of  the  volumes  relied  on  for  occasional 
insights  into  the  Negro's  condition  during  the  18th  Century. 


204  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 


APPENDIX. 

The  personal  element  is  an  especially  important  one  in  the 
discussion  of  the  religions  phase  of  the  Negro  question  in  Vir 
ginia.  An  institution  is  largely  interpreted  by  its  human  ex 
ponents.  The  Negro  church  is  largely  measured  by  its  mem 
bers,  but  it  must  also  be  measured  by  its  leaders.  The  Negro 
ministers  of  Virginia  are  excellent  men  in  many  instances  and 
this  history  could  not  be  complete  without  some  specific  ref 
erences  to  the  lives  and  work  of  these.  The  evils  which  the 
Negro  race  is  heir  to  and  which  environment  has  superposed 
upon  it  are  largely  to  be  met  by  the  forces  marshaled  by  these 
religious  leaders.  If  the  influence  of  the  Negro  preachers  is 
waning  at  all,  it  has  not  yet  waned  so  perceptibly  as  to  hamper 
seriously  the  good  work  which  they  endeavor  to  do.  No  one 
can  deny  that  many  of  them  are  factors  for  good. 

The  names  of  some  of  the  more  prominent  Negro  ministers 
of  Virginia  are  appended.  Some  of  these  men  are  doing  the 
real  constructive  work  by  which  the  Negro  Church  is  to  be 
judged.  We  could  not  attempt  to  make  the  list  inclusive,  but 
we  have  endeavored  to  present  the  lives  of  some  of  the  foremost 
among  their  religious  leaders.  Many  very  young  men  will 
find  their  names  omitted,  but  if  their  work  of  the  future  in  the 
ministry  is  commensurate  with  their  promise  at  present,  some 
later  writer  will  be  pleased  to  record  their  worthy  achievements. 

In  securing  this  data  we  were  greatly  aided  by  a  few  leaders 
among  the  leaders  of  Negroes.  In  this  appendix  the  ministers' 
names  are  arranged  alphabetically  under  the  various  ecclesi 
astical  divisions.  When  the  lists  were  prepared,  the  following 
letter  was  sent  to  each  person  whose  brief  biography  is  here 
given,  and  the  responses  were  prompt  and  given  with  a  seem 
ing  desire  to  aid  in  the  study  of  the  question  : 

You  have  been  designated  to  me  as  one  of  the  most  promi 
nent  preachers  of  your  denomination  in  Virginia.  I  am  now 
writing  a  "History  of  the  Religious  Development  of  the  Negro 
in  Virginia,"  and  I  want  to  include  your  biography  as  one  of 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  205 

the  present-day  leaders  in  the  racial  uplift.  Please  answer  the 
questions  below  immediately  (it  will  only  require  a  few  min 
utes  time),  and  return  to  me  in  enclosed  stamped  envelope. 
This  matter  is  pressing  and  very  important. 

1.  Full  name: 

2.  Date  and  place  of  birth : 

3.  Titles  (such  as  B.  D.,  LL.  D.,  or  Ph.  D.)  :    D.  D. 

4.  Education — Name  of   institutions  and   date   of   courses : 

5.  If  married — Date  of  and  to  whom: 

6.  Give  names  of  churches,  locations  and  length  of  your  dif 
ferent  pastorates : 

7.  Number  of  members  in  your  present  church : 

8.  How  long  have  you  been  preaching? 

9.  Any   public   honors — Political,    fraternal   or   otherwise? 

10.  Any  interesting  facts  concerning  yourself  that  you  con 
sider  important? 


CONVENTION  BAPTIST. 

1.  Full  name:     W.  R.  Ashburn. 

2.  Date  and  place  of  birth :     Feb.  8. 

3.  Titles  (such  as  B.  D.,  LL.  D.,  or  Ph.  D.)  :    D.  D. 

4.  Education — Name     of     institutions    and    date    of    courses : 
Va.  Theo.  Sem.  &  Coll. 

5.  If  married — Date  of  and  to  whom :     Josie  Campbell,  July, 
1893,  and  M.  C.  Holmes,  June,  1898,  both  deceased. 

6.  Give    names    of    churches,    locations    and    length    of    your 
different  pastorates :     First  Baptist  Church,   Salem,  Zion   Bap 
tist,  So.  Richmond,  Cool  Spring  Baptist  Church,  Franklin,  Va. 
Cool  Spring  is  the  present  charge,  have  been  here  7  years,  and 
at  the  others  3  and  7  each. 

7.  Number  of  members  in  your  present  church :     900. 

8.  How  long  have  you  been  preaching?    20  years. 

9.  Any    public     honors — Political,     fraternal     or     otherwise? 
Was   State   Missionary   for  the  Va.    Baptist    State   Convention. 
Am  president  of  the  State  B.  Y.  P.  U.  of  Virginia. 

10.  Any  interesting   facts  concerning  yourself  that  you  con 
sider  important  ?    Mother  and  father  both  living,  with  8  children ; 

— 14 


206  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

2  sons  pastors,  a  son  and  daughter  physicians;    the  president  of 
the  Ashburn  Brothers  Shirt  Mfg.  Co. 


1.  John  Hilyer  Ashby. 

2.  June  10,  1875,  York  Co.,  Va. 
3. 

4.  I  received  my  education  under  private  teachers,  much  of 
the  time  I  was  my  own  teacher. 

5.  Fannie  S.  Scott  of  Powhatan  Co.,  April  10,  1900. 

6.  First  Baptist,  Williamsburg,  Va.,  3  years,   Shiloh  Baptist, 
Norfolk,  5  years,  and  am  still  in  charge. 

7.  300. 

8.  Nine  years. 

9.  Member  of    State   Board   of   the   Va.    Baptist    Convention 
and  is  mentioned  as  successor  to  the  late  Dr.  R.  H.  Bowling  of 
Bute   Street   Baptist   Church   of    Norfolk. 

10.  Without   even   a    Normal    School    education    or   the    sup 
porting  influence  of  any  special  person,  the  Lord  is  using  me 
with  great  success. 


1.  Junius  Caesar  Austin. 

2.  Aug.  1,  1885,  New  Canton,  Va. 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D. 

4.  Virginia    Seminary    and    College,    Lynchburg,    Va.      Spent 
eight  years  in  this  school,  doing  literary  and  theological  work, 
from   1902-1910,  graduating  May  28. 

5.  Inez  K.  Pollard  of  Covington,  Va.,  a  tailoress.     Nov.  23, 
1910. 

6.  Main  St.  Baptist  Church,  Clifton  Forge,  Va.,   from  June, 
1910,  to  February,   1912.     From  that  date  to  this  hour,  pastor 
of  "The  Mt.  Zion  Baptist  Church,"  Staunton,  Va. 

7.  1342. 

8.  14  years.     Held  a  summer  charge  while  in  school  in  Bel- 
mar,  N.  J.,  from  1906  to  1909. 

9.  On  graduating  I  was  class  orator ;  and  in  the  Annual  Ora 
torical  Contest  I  won  the  Gold  Medal. 

10.  Within  these  two  years  we  have  added  unto  the  church 
342   souls   and   raised   over  $11,000.     Was   converted   when    11 
years  old,  licensed  to  preach  at  the  age  of  14  years. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  207 

1.  Richard  Wright  Ashburn. 

2.  April  15,   1876,  Churchland,  Va. 

3.  B.  D. 

4.  Public    Schools,    Norfolk    Co.,    and    Va.    Theo.    Sem.    and 
Col.,  Lynchburg,  Va.     Pub.  School  from   1883  to  '94.     College 
from  '97  to  1904.     4  years  Academy,  3  years  Theology. 

5.  Irene  Baylor,  Washington,  D.  C.,  Dec.  20,   1905. 

6.  Poplar    Lawn,    Wellville,    Va.,    2    years ;    Shiloh    Baptist., 
Blackstone,  Va.,   10  years. 

7.  750. 

8.  14  years. 

9.  Member    Foreign    Mission    and    Publication    Boards,     Va. 
Bapt.  Convention.     Ex-Treasurer  State  B.  Y.   P.  U. 

10.  He  finished  school  through  hardship. 


1.  Samuel  A.  Brown. 

2.  Feb.  27,  1876,  Charles  City  Co.,  Va. 

3.  B.  A. 

4.  State    Normal   and    Collegiate    Institute.      Normal    Course 
1895-'98;   Collegiate    Course     1898-1902.      Owing    to    lack    of 
means — read  Theology  privately. 

5.  Clementine  Poole,  Sept.,   1903. 

6.  Second  New  Hope  Bapt.,  Spottsylvania  Co.,  Va.     4  years 
.     .     .     .     Gillfield  Bapt.     1  year. 

7.  1500. 

8.  14  years. 

9.  For  six  years  have  been  president  of   one  of  the  largest 
associations  in  the  state — viz.,   Mattaponi   Bapt.   Assoc. 

10.  Worked   my   way   up    from   the   bottom   with   no   one   to 
contribute  a  cent  to  my  education.     Am  president  of  a  colored 
High  School  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  which  I  founded  in  1905. 
WTe  now  own  property  worth  $7,000,   including  25   acres  land 
for  demonstration  work. 


1.  James   Hampton   Burks. 

2.  Boonsboro,  Bedford  Co.,  Va.,  Dec.  7,   1873. 

3.  B.  D. 


208  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO 

4.  Virginia  Theo.  Seminary  and  College.    Jan.  2,  1892 — June, 
1900. 

5.  Rosa  Davis,  Lynchburg,  Va.,  Jan.  2,  1902. 

6.  Zion  Bapt.   Church,   Manchester,  Va.     2  years ;   High   St. 
Bapt.  Church,  Roanoke,  Va.,  from  Sept.,  1902,  to  present  time. 

7.  1,000. 

8.  Since  July,  1900. 

9.  Degree  of  D.  D.  conferred  upon  me  by  my  Alma  Mater  in 
1912. 

10.  Chairman   of   Trustee   Board   of   Va.   Theological    Semi 
nary   and   College ;   Moderator   of   Valley   Bapt.    Association. 


1.  J.  G.  St.  Clair  Drake. 

2.  March  5,  1879,  Payne's  Bay,  St.  James,  Barbados,  British 
West  Indies. 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D. 

4.  Graduated    from    Academic    Department  of    Harrison    Col 
lege,  Bridgetown,  Barbados,  British  West  Indies,  June  28,  1899. 
From   Va.   Theo.    Seminary   &   College,   Lynchburg,   Va.    (Col 
lege  and  Theological   Courses),   with   degree   B.   D.      May   27, 

1907.  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Afro-American  School  of  Cor 
respondence,  Washington,  D.  C.,  Sept.  25,   1913. 

5.  Bessie  L.  Bowles,  Staunton,  Va.,  April  6,  1910. 

6.  Antioch    Baptist    Church,    Peaksville,   Va.,    1905   to    1907 

(while    in    College) First    Baptist    Church,    Harri- 

sonburg,  Va.,  present  charge,  Jan.  1,  1913. 

7.  300. 

8.  From  1902  to  present. 

9.  I   was   elected    Statistical    Secretary    of   Virginia     Baptist 
State  Convention  at  its  meeting  in  Newport  News,  Va.,  May, 

1908,  and  hold  that  position  until  now. 

10.  During  my  summer  vacation  while  in  Va.  Theo.  Sem.  £ 
College  I  travelled  as  Financial  Secretary  for  the  Baptist  State 
Sunday-school   Convention   of   Virginia,   with   much   success   to 
the  work.     Spent  two  years  in  Paris,  France,  studying  French 
language.     Organized  and  was  president  of   Nansemond   Nor 
mal    and    Ind.    Inst.,    Suffolk,    Va.,    until    throat   affection    com 
pelled  me  to  resign.     From  1907  to  1908. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  209 

1.  Alexander  Arthur  Galvin. 

2.  New  Glasgow,  Amherst  Co.,  Va. 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D. 

4.  I  am  a  graduate  of  Va.   Theological   Seminary  and  Col 
lege,  having  completed  the  Academic  and  Theological  Courses, 
May,  1897. 

5.  Janie  P.  Toles,  Dec.  22,   1897. 

6.  I   pastored   Ebenezer   Bapt.   Church,    Staunton,   Va.,    four 
years  and  a  half,  and  this  coming  June  will  make  twelve  years 
for  me  in  the  Loyal  St.  Bapt.  Ch.,  Danville,  Va. 

7.  About   1,000. 

8.  Sixteen  years. 

9.  I  am  a  trustee  of  the  above  named  school  and  Pres.  of  the 
Va.  Bapt.  State  Convention. 

10.  


1.  Louis  R.  W.  Johnson. 

2.  Dec.   11,  1878,  Staunton,  Va. 

3.  A.  B.,  A,  M.,  S.  T.  B. 

4.  Lincoln   Uni.    Pa.    College   and   Theo.    Sem.    1895-'99-Col- 
lege,    1899-1902-Theology.     With  summer  and   Correspondence 
Courses  since  at  several  institutions. 

5.  Alberta  B.  Coles,  Charlottesville,  Jan.  4,   1904. 

6.  Alt.    Zion     Bapt.     Church,     Millboro,    1903-W 

Now  at  Va.  Theo.  Sem.  &  College,  and  Church. 

7.  Not  less  than  1500. 

8.  Since  1902. 

9.  None. 

10.  Instructor  of  Freshmen  and  Sophs,  in  Greek  at  Lincoln 
Uni.    (while    a    theological    student).      Principal    of     Piedmont 
Institute  Charlottesville   (burned  1905).     Dean  of  Theo.  Dept. 
and  Prof,  of  Greek,  Va.  Theo.  Sem.  &  College,  Lynchburg,  Va. 
1907-8,  during  which  Deanship  I  was  called  to  Court  St.  Bapt. 
Church.     This  space  of   12  years  has  been  well  used  both   in 
preaching  and   teaching. 


1.  Charles  E.  Jones. 

2.  Concord,  Campbell  Co.,  Va.,  July  31,   1877. 


210  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

3.  B.  D. 

4.  Va.   Theo.   Sem.   &   College,   Lynchburg,   Va.,   May,    1901, 
finished. 

5.  April  22,  1903,  Alice  A.  Walker  Harris. 

6.  Zion   Baptist   Church,   Newport   News,   Va.,    13   years. 

7.  500. 

8.  14  years. 

9.  Only  Pastor. 

10.  In  1910  the  Holy  Ghost  used  me  remarkably  in  that  337 
souls  were  converted  unto  God  in  Zion  Baptist  Church.     Now 
building  a  church  to  cost  $25,000. 


1.  Samuel  Alford  Moses. 

2.  Charlotte  C.   H.,  Mar.   17,   1877. 

3.  A.  B.,  D.  D. 

4.  Virginia    Theo.    Sem.    &    College,    Lynchburg,    Va.      Col 
lege,  '05,  Theology,  '05. 

5.  June  10,   1908,  Carrie  L.  Galloway,  Richmond,  Va. 

6.  General     Supt.     Missions,    Va.     Bapt.     State    Convention, 
1905-'08;    First    Bapt.    Church,    Harrisonburg,     Va.,     6   years; 
High  St.  Baptist  Church,  Danville,  Va.,  1  year. 

7.  500. 

8.  15  years. 

9.  No. 

10.  I   am   one  of    three    brothers   who   are    pastoring.     The 
other  two  are :     Jas.  M.   Moses,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  Monumental 
Bapt.  Church,  Phila. ;  and  W.  H.  Moses,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  Mt. 
Zion  Bapt.  Church,  Knoxville,  Tenn. 


1.  Joseph   Jordan   Nickerson. 

2.  July  4,  1875,  Jefferson  Co.,  Florida. 

3.  Pursuing  a  B.  Th.  course. 

4.  Literary     and     Theological,     1907-1913.      Virginia     Union 
University,  Richmond,  Va. 

5.  June  28,  1907,  Carrie  E.  Nichols. 

6.  St.    John    Baptist     Church,     Ormond,     Florida,     1904-'06. 
The  first  four  years  of  my  ministry  were  spent  largely  in  mis 
sion   work.     Now  in  Williamsburg,  Va. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  211 

7.  800. 

8.  13  years. 

9.  None. 

10.  My   life    from   childhood   to   manhood   was   spent   in   the 
country,   where  the  chances   for  an   education   were   poor,   and 
I  did  not  come  in  contact  with  men  that  could  help  me  until 
I  was  twenty-eight. 


1.  Robert  Cicero   Pannell. 

2.  Leesville,  Va.,  July  30,  1865. 

3.  D.  D. 

4.  Public  School,  Campbell  Co.,  and  Lynchburg,  Va.,  Hamp 
ton  Inst.     5  years.  Private  course  in  Theology,  6  years. 

5.  Sept.   27,   1888,   Maria  Louise   Branch,   Lynchburg,   Va. 

6.  Lovingston,     Lynchburg,    three    years ;     Ebenezer    Baptist 
Church,  Staunton,  eleven  years. 

7.  487. 

8.  Twenty-six  years. 

9.  Pres.  Western  District  S.  S.  Convention.     Chairman  Min 
isters    Conference,    Staunton.      Moderator    Berean    Association 
at  present  time. 

10.  I  am  architect    of  the  Ebenezer  Church,    begun  in  1910, 
completed  1913,  cost  about  $16,000. 


1.  Charles  Henry  Phillips. 

2.  May,  1857,  Louisa  County,  Va. 

3.  D.  D. 

4.  None. 

5.  Dec.  31,  1903,  Maggie  Powell. 

6.  Union,   Beaver  Dam,  30  years ;   St.   Thomas,   Bumpass,  4 
years. 

7.  250. 

8.  Thirty-five  years. 

9.  I   was   endorsed   as   National   Evangelist   by   the   National 
Baptist  Convention  of  America. 

10.  I  have  conducted  revivals  in  at  least  twenty  states,   for 
twenty  years,  there  have  been  fully  25,000  souls  born  into  the 
kingdom  of  Christ. 


212  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

1.  Lafayette  F.  Sharp. 

2.  Harrellsville,  N.   C,  Jan.   14,   1873. 

3.  B.  Th. 

4.  State  Normal,  Plymouth,  N.  C. ;  Roanoke  Institute,  Eliza 
beth  City,  N.  C. 

5.  1901,  Lillie  E.  Cooper,  Windsor,  N.  C. 

6.  Providence  Bapt.  Ch.  Edenton,  6  years first 

Baptist  Church,  Berkley,  Va.,  7  years. 

7.  450. 

8.  18  years. 

9.  - 

10.  Principal  Albemarle  Training   School,   Edenton,  4  years. 
Have  been  called   to  three   large  churches   in   North   Carolina. 
Will  leave  for  North  Carolina,  Apr.   15. 


1.  Thomas  H.  Shorts. 

2.  Fauquier  Co.,  Va.,  Sept.  21,  1849. 

3.  D.  D. 

4.  H.   N.  and  A.   I.   Hampton,  Va.,  and  Guadalupe  College, 
Seguin,  Tex.,  1889  and  1901,  respectively. 

5.  Oct.  11,  1877,  Cornelia  Davis,  Orange  C.  H.,  Va. 

6.  Garfield  Bapt.  Church,  Clarke  Co.,  Va.,  3  years.     .     .     . 
Queen  St.  Bapt.  Church,  Hampton,  Va.,  30  years. 

7.  1,200. 

8.  35  years. 

9.  Fraternal  P.  S.  G.  R.  of  G.  U.  O.  of  G.  F.,  also  H.  P.  of 
same.    V.  C.  of  T.  B.  of  Va.  Sem.  and  College,  Lynchburg,  Va., 
Treas.  State  Board  Bapt.  S.  Convention,  Va. 

10.  Trying  to  complete  our  Queen  St.  Bapt.  Church,  Hamp 
ton,  Va.,  destroyed  by  fire  about  eight  years  ago,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $32,000. 


1.  Jas.  H.  Smith. 

2.  March  6,  1861,  Mathews  Co.,  Va. 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D. 

4.  Hampton  Normal  School,  Theo.  of  Wayland  Sem.,   1888, 
Washington,   D.    C.      Graduated   at    Storer   College,    1890,   and 
Howard  University,  May  27,  1892. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  213 

5.  Nov.  8,   1893,  Susie  A.  Jackson,  graduate  Storer  College. 

6.  New   Mt.   Zion,   Gloucester  Co.,   Va.,   12  years     .     .     .     . 
first   Bapt.    East   End,   Newport    News,   present   pastorate,     10 
years. 

7.  683. 

8.  Began  1881. 

9.  Moderator  Tidewater  P.  Bapt.  Asso.,  first  Vice  Pres.  Dis. 
S.   S.   Con.     Trustee,  Va.,  Theo.   Sem.   &  College,  and   of  the 
Newport  News  Training  School.     Vice  Pres.  Whittier  Memo 
rial  Hospital. 

10.  . 


1.  Bernard  Tyrrell. 

2.  Albemarle  Co.,  near  Earlysville,  Va. 

3.  A.  M.,  A.  B.,  D.  D. 

4.  Storer  College,  Harper's  Ferry,  W.  Va.,   1879.     Hillsdale 
College,   about   1883   to    1888.     Yale   Divinity   School,    1890  to 
1893. 

5.  Sept.   12,   1894,  Elizabeth  Wilkerson. 

6.  Holcombe   Rock   Bapt.   Church,   Bedford   Co.,   15   months. 
The  Diamond  Hill  Bapt.  Church,  Lynchburg,  18^  years. 

7.  603. 

8.  Twenty-four  years. 

9.  I   have    been   Vice   President    from   Va.   of   the    National 
Baptist    Convention    six    years.      Vice    President    Va.    Baptist 
State  Convention. 

10.  Began  teaching  Greek,  Latin,  etc.,  in  Va.  Theo.   Sem.  & 
College  in  1893.    Have  been  for  a  number  of  years  and  am  now, 
Dean  of  Theological  Department. 


1.  Robert  Clisson  Woods. 

2.  Nov.  17,  1882,  Stewartsville,  Va. 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D.,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

4.  Public  High  School.     Va.  Theo.  Sem.  &  College;  College 
Course,  A.  B.  1906;  Theo.  Course,  B.  D.  '06. 

5.  June  6,  1907,  Octavia  Hunter. 

6.  President  Clayton-Williams  University,  Balto.,  Md.     1906- 


214  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO 

'08.     First  Baptist  Church,  Staunton,  Va.,  1908-'!!.     President 

Va.  Theo.  Sem.  &  College,  Lynchburg,  Va.,  1911. 

7   

8.  Eight  years. 

9.  Have  held  prominent  offices  in  State  religious  bodies. 

10.  Have  written  several  pamphlets.     The  most  widely  read 
one,  ''Why  I  am  a  Baptist."    A  statement  of  the  Baptists'  posi 
tion. 


1.  Thomas  H.  White. 

2.  Oct.  8,  1869,  King  and  Queen  Co.,  Va. 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D. 

4.  Va.   Theo.   Sem.   &  College,   Lynchburg,   Va.,   and  private 
instruction.       4     years     Academic     and     3     years     Theological 
Courses.     1890-'97. 

5.  June  20,  1900.     Martha  A.  Harper,  Richmond,  Va. 

6.  Asst.  pastor  First  Baptist,  Richmond,  Va.,   1897-'98.     In 
structor  in  Church  Polity  and  Mathematics  in  my  Alma  Mater 
the  sessions  of  1898  and  1900  inclusive First  Bap 
tist  Church,  Clifton  Forge. 

7.  400. 

8.  Since  1894. 

9.  I  am  a  32  degree  Mason  and  Grand  Prelate  of  the  K.  of  P. 
of  Virginia.     Cor.   Sec.  Va.  Bapt.   State  Convention,  and  Vir 
ginia's  representative  on  the  Home  Mission  Board  of  National 
Baptist  Convention. 

10.  Reared  at  Richmond,  Va.     Baptized  into  membership  of 
First  African  Baptist  Church,  July,  1887. 


1.  Randolph  W.  Young. 

2.  1851,  Essex  County. 

3.  D.  D. 

4.  Richmond  Theo.  Sem.  1887-'89. 

5.  Feb.,  1880,  Mary  C.  Carter,  Caroline  County. 

6.  Mt.  Tabor,  Shumansville,  Va.,   12  years Je 
rusalem,  Car.  Co.,  9  years. 

7.  1,100.     (Three  churches.) 

8.  About  35  years. 


RKLIOIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OP    THE    NEGRO  215 

9.  President   Essex    Sunday-school    Union   and    President   of 
Caroline  S.  S.  Union.     Pres.  of  B.  G.  I.  Academy  and  Trustee 
Board. 

10.  My  pastorate  in  the  above  named  churches  has  been  one 
of  peace  and  prosperity. 


AFRICAN  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  ZION. 

1.  fames  Parkhurst  Foote. 

2.  Oct.  4,  1875,  Iredelle  Co.,  N.  C. 

3.  A.  B. 

4.  Completed  Normal  Collegiate  courses  at  Livingstone  Col 
lege,  Salisbury,  North  Carolina,  1902,  1906. 

5.  June  6,  1906,  Berta  Barksdale.    June  8,  1910,  Almeta  Clin 
ton. 

6.  Gethsemane,   Charlotte,   N.   C.,  2  years Oak 

St.  Church,  Petersburg. 

7.  About  350. 

8.  Since  Nov.,  1905. 

9.  None. 

10.  All  of  minor  importance. 


1.  Beverly  Joseph  Bolding. 

2.  Feb.  7,  1866,  Alexandria,  Va. 

3.  A.  B.,  B.  D.,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

4.  Collegiate  Howard  University  and  Temple  College.     B.  D. 
Episcopal  Divinity  School,  1890.     Honorary  Degrees  from  Lin 
coln  and  Livingstone  College. 

5.  Dec.  24,  1890,  Ella  A.  Drummond,  Phila.,  Pr.  of  Inst.  for 
Colored  Youth. 

6.  Phila.,   Pa Oak   St.,   Petersburg,   Va.     Now 

presiding  Elder  Petersburg  District. 

7.  -        — . 

8.  25  years. 

9.  Elected  Editor  Varick  Endeavorer,   May,   1900,  a  general 
office  in  A.  M.  A.  Zion  Church. 

10.  Built  John  Wesley  A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church,  Wash.,  D.  C. 
Bought  Pa.  Ave.  A.   M.  E.  Zion  Church,  Baltimore,   Md.,  and 


216  RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

parsonage.       Remodeled     and     bought    other    property    to    the 
amount  of  $65,000  to  A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church. 


1.  Elijah  P.  Mayo. 

2.  May  30,  1860. 

3.  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

4.  The  Salem  Academy,  Salem,  N.  C.,  finished  in  1887.     Since 
then  took  a  course  in  McKenley  University. 

5.  July  10,  1902,  Bessie  C.  Wilson,  graduate  of  V.  N.  &  I.  L, 
Petersburg,  Va. 

6.  "The  Old  Ship"  A.  M.  E.  Zion  church,  Montgomery,  Ala. 
4l/2  years Am  now  pastor  at  Bristol,  Va. 

7.  275. 

8.  22  years. 

9.  I  was  Grand  Chief  of  the  Co.  of  G.  S.  and  D.  S.  in  the 
state  of  Kentucky,  while  pastoring  at  Middleboro,  Ky.,  for  three 
years. 

10.  The  people  say  I  am  a  business  man  as  well  as  a  preacher. 
I  own  property  in  Tennessee  and  Virginia,  Missouri,  Kentucky 
and  Alabama. 


1.  Colson  Willis  Winfield. 

2.  Dec.  20,  1850,  Dinwiddie  Co.,  Va. 

3.  D.  D.,  Livingstone  College. 

4.  Kelly  School  and  Payne  Divinity  School,  1878  to  1885. 

5.  Dec.  11,  1872,  Louisa  Williams. 

6.  Oak  St.,  Petersburg,  Va.,  4  years P.  E.  24 

years. 

7.  2,748  in  my  district. 

8.  38  years. 

9.  -        -. 

10.  I  have  been  Presiding  Elder  on  the  Edenton  district   12 
years,  and  on  the  Norfolk  and  Petersburg  district  12  years. 


1.  Richard  Hilton  Riddick. 

2.  Tyrrell  Co.,  N.  C.,  in  1873. 

3.  A.  M.,  D.  D. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  217 

4.  Plymouth    State    Normal.      A.    M.    from    Eastern    College, 
Newberne,  N.  C.  D.  D.  from  Livingston  College,  Salisbury,  N.  C. 

5.  June  11,  1902,  M.  E.  Fox,  Chillicothe,  Ohio. 

6.  Varrick  Chapel,  Lunenburg  Co.,  Va Norfolk. 

7.  750. 

8.  15  years. 

9.  Grand    lecturer    for    In.  Order    of    Good    Samaritans    and 
Daughters  of  Samaria  for  State  of  North  Carolina. 

10.  Was   President  of   Edenton   Industrial  College   for  seven 
years. 


ASSOCIATION  BAPTISTS. 

1.  Anthony  Binga,  Jr. 

2.  June  1,  1843,  Amhersburg,  Ontario,  Canada. 

3.  D.  D.  from  Shaw  University. 

4.  King's  Institute,  Buxton,  Ont. 

5.  Dec.  2,  1869,  Rebecca  L.  Bush ;  1909,  M.  V.  Young. 

6.  Held  principalship  of  Albany  Enterprise  Academy,  Athens 
Co.,  Ohio,  for  three  years  and  preached  to  students.    Have  been 
pastor  of  First  Baptist  Church  So.  Richmond  41   years  and  9 
months. 

7.  Over  1,400. 

8.  Nearly  47  years. 

9.  Vice  Chairman  Trustee  Board  V.  U.  University;  Treasurer 
General  Assoc.  of  Va. ;  Chairman  Foreign  Mission  Board  Gen. 
Assoc.  Va. ;  Member  Foreign  Board  Lott  Carey  Convention. 

10.  I  was  principal  of  Public  School  of  this  city  for  sixteen 
years.     Have  written  and  published  eight  pamphlets  and  books, 
one  324  pages. 


1.  George  Washington  Goode. 

2.  March  14,  1865,  Patrick  Co.,  Va. 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D. 

4.  High    School,    Marion,    Va. ;    Institute    and    Theological 
Courses  in  Richmond  Theological  Seminary  completing  the  He 
brew  and  Greek  Course  with  degree  of  B.  D.,  1895.     Six  years 
there. 


218  RELIGIOUS    DKVKLOPMENT    OF    THlv    NlvGRO 

5.  June  24,   1896,   Alary  L.  Gaines,  public  school  teacher  of 
Richmond. 

6.  Salem  Baptist,  West  Point,  Va.,  4  years,  and  Mt.  Zion  Bap 
tist,  Churchview,  Va.,  at  same  time.     Calvary  Baptist,  Danville, 
Va.,  18  years. 

7.  About  550.     (It  had  50  members  when  I  came  to  it.) 

8.  About  28  years. 

9.  Secretary  of  Cherry  Stone  Association  14  years.     President 
of  Baptist  General  Association  7  years.     Founder  and  President 
of  Pittsylvania  N.  &  C.  Inst.  12  years,  etc. 

10.  Have  not  sought  a  position  or  work  for  18  years.     Have 
had  lucrative  positions  on  average  of  one  every  two  years,  since 
I've  been  here.     Have  given  time  and  money  to  every  phase  of 
our  denominational  work.     Specially  interested  in  Foreign  Mis 
sions.      More  than    1,200  have   professed   Christ   since    I   came 
here. 


1.  Archie  Allen  Graham. 

2.  Feb.  9,  1873,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

4.  Knoxville    College,    Knoxville,    Term.,    1890-1895.      Union 
University,  Richmond,  Va.,  1898-1900. 

5.  Sept.  18,  1901,  Florence  E.  Isham,  Richmond,  Va. 

6.  Zion  Baptist  Church,  Phoebus,  Va.,  14  years. 

7.  About  1,600. 

8.  About  15  years. 

9.  Moderator  Norfolk  Union  Baptist  Association.     Secretary 
General  Association  of  Virginia  (col.).     Ch'man  Ex.  Bd.  Negro 
Organization  Soc.,  Va. 

10.  Actively  interested  in  questions  of  health  and  education  of 
the  race. 


1.  Royal  B.  Hardy. 

2.  March  27,  1856,  Botetourt  Co.,  Va. 

3.  B.  D. 

4.  Richmond  Institute,  Academic,  5  years.     Theological  Sem 
inary,  3  years. 

5.  April  27,  1893,  Fellisco  W.  Payne. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  219 

6.  Mt.  Zion,  Charlottesville,  Va.,  22  years  at  the  same  church. 

7.  600. 

8.  27  years.     (In  school  part  of  the  time.) 

9.  D.  D.  was  conferred  by  Va.  Union  University. 

10.  Moderator  of  Shiloh  Baptist  Association,  which  position  I 
have  held  for  18  vears. 


1.  William  Thomas  Johnson. 

2.  July  19,  1866,  So.  Richmond,  Va. 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D. 

4.  Virginia  Union  University,  1886-1893. 

5.  Sept.  5,  1895,  Margaret  R.  Michie. 

6.  Mt.  Olive  Bapt.  Church,  Chesterfield  Co.,  Va.,  4  years  First 
Bapt.  Church,  Lexington,  Va.,  9  years.     First  African  Baptist 
Church,  Richmond,  12  years. 

7.  3,378. 

8.  25  years. 

9.  Curator  Hampton  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute ;  Trustee 
Va.    Union    University;   Trustee   United  Society    Christian    En 
deavor  ;   Pres.   Friends   Orphan   Asylum ;   Secretary   Educational 
Board  Gen.  Assoc.,  Va. 

10.  I  am  also  Treas.  Negro  Baptist  Old  Folks  Home ;  Ch'man 
Lott  Carey  Foreign  Mission  Board  of  the  Lott  Carey  Foreign 
Mission  Convention. 


1.  Charles  Henry  Johnson. 

2.  Feb.  17,  1859,  Culpeper  Co.,  Va. 

3.  D.  D.  (from  Va.  Union  University,  Richmond,  Va.). 

4.  Richmond    Institute,    completed    Literary    and    Theological 
Courses  May  11,  1883. 

5.  July  31,  1889,  Winnie  Lee  Branch. 

6.  State  Missionary  Va.  Baptist  State  S.   S.  Convention  five 
years.     Lee  St.  Bapt.  Church,  Bristol,  Va.  &  Term.,  24  years. 

7.  500. 

8.  35  years. 

9.  Moderator    Schaffer    Memorial    Baptist   Assoc.    and    Vice- 
Pres.  Bapt.  General  Assoc.  Va.,  and  State  S.  S.  Convention  24 
years. 


220  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE   NEGRO 

10.  I  received  practically  all  my  primary  training  from  my 
parents'  former  owners,  Rev.  John  Farrar  and  family  of  Lynch 
burg,  later  of  Culpeper  and  Orange  counties. 


1.  Joseph  Eudon  Jones. 

2.  Lynchburg,  Va. 

3.  A.  M.,  A.  B.,  D.  D. 

4.  Private  training  and  three  years  private  school  in  Lynch 
burg.    Colver  Institute.    Graduated  from  the  Academy  and  Mad 
ison  (Colgate)  University,  1876. 

5.  1882,  Rosa  Daniel  Kinckle,  Lynchburg,  Va. 

6.  Bethesda  Baptist  Church,  Chesterfield  Co.,  Va.,  22  years. 

7.  250. 

8.  36  years. 

9.  Prof,  in  Richmond  Inst.  and  Richmond  Theological  Sem 
inary  ;  now  in  Va.  Union  University. 

10.  Corresponding  Secretary  Bapt.  For.   Mission  Convention, 
U.  S.  A.  for  a  number  of  years.     Also  editor  for  years  of  de 
nominational  paper. 


1.  Zechariah  Dearborn  Lewis. 

2.  Nov.  25,  1859,  Lynchburg,  Va. 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D. 

4.  Freedmen's  School,  1865.     Richmond  Institute,  1883,  com 
pleted  Academic  Course  in  three  years.     Graduated  from  Rich 
mond  Theological  Seminary,  1889. 

5.  July  2,  1889,  Ada  F.  McKenny,  Richmond,  Va. 

6.  Shady  Grove  Baptist  Church,  Orange  Co.,  Va.,  about  five 
years.      Second    Baptist    Church,    Richmond,    Va.,    continuously 
since  1889. 

7.  2,100. 

8.  30  years. 

9.  Pres.  Gen.  Bapt.  Assoc.  Va. ;  Member  Pub.  Board  National 
Bapt.  Convention,  Executive  Board  Lott  Carey  For.  Miss.  Con 
vention,  Trustee  Board  Virginia  Union  University.     Was  first 
President   Southern  Aid  Insurance  Co.  of  Va.     Is  Vice  Pres. 
St.  Luke  Penny  Savings  Bank.     Represented  Virginia  in  50th. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  221 

Anniversary  of  the  Negroes'  Emancipation,  Nov.,  1913,  in  New 
York  State. 

10.  In  first  revival  conducted  alone,  more  than  500  converts 
were  baptized.  Gained  quite  a  reputation  a  few  years  ago  in 
debate  with  a  Catholic  priest  of  Richmond,  on  the  subject :  "Can 
man  forgive  sin?" 


1.  Charles  Satchell  Morris. 

2.  Sept.  26,  1865,  Louisville,  Ky. 

3.  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

4.  Wilberforce  University,  Ohio,  1876-'81.     Howard  Univer 
sity/Washington,  D.  C.,  1886-'89.    Uni.  Michigan,  1893.    Boston 
University,  1893-4.    Newton  Theological  Seminary,  1895-'98. 

5.  July  7,  1898,  Sadie  Eugenia  Waterman,  Charleston,  S.  C. 

6.  Myrtle  Bapt.,  West  Newton,  Mass.,  3  years.     Abyssinian 
Baptist,  New  York  City,  6  years.     Bank  St.  Bapt.,  Norfolk,  Va., 
1911  to  date. 

7.  1500. 

8.  17  years. 

9.  Pres.  Mass.  State  Prohibition  Convention,  1898.     Won  Na 
tional   Prize   for  Oratory  representing  Massachusetts.     Opened 
British    Chautauqua.      Asst.    Secretary    Nat.    Rep.    Convention, 
1892. 

10.  Represented    Newton    Seminary    in    College    temperance 
oratorical  contest  in  Massachusetts,  won  first  prize,  $25.     Rep 
resented  Massachusetts  in  National  contest  at  Pittsburg  in  1897, 
won  first  prize,  $75. 


1.  Philip  Fisher  Morris. 

2.  Heathsville,  Northumberland  Co.,  Va. 

3.  A.  M.,  D.  D. 

4.  Howard  University,  Washington,  D.  C.     Graduated  1880. 

5.  1882,  Angelina  Taliaferro,  Lynchburg,  Va. 

6.  Lynchburg,    Va. :      Court    St.    Baptist    Church,    17   years ; 
Eighth  St.  Baptist  Church,  12  years. 

7.  Not  pastoring  now. 

8.  27  years. 

—15 


222  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

9.  33  degree  Mason  and  P.  G.  Master  of  Masons  of  Va. 

10.  Dean  of  Theological  Department  Shaw  University,  Ral 
eigh,  N.  C.,  for  three  years,  also  Prof.  Logic,  Ethics  and  Eco 
nomics. 


1.  Jesse  Waddell  Patterson. 

2.  July  15,  1870,  New  Kent  C.  H. 

3.  B.  D. 

4.  Richmond  Theological  Seminary  (also  took  academic  course 
there),  finished  1896. 

5.  Sept.  30,  1903,  Julia  Ann  Vivian  Chiles,  Louisa,  Va. 

6.  Zion   Bapt.    Church,  Louisa   Co.,  Va.,   8   years 

First  Baptist  Church  Hampton,  Va.,  8  years. 

7.  1260. 

8.  18  years. 

9.  Cor.  Sec.     Norfolk  Baptist  Assoc.,  Treasurer  Baptist  Gen. 
Assoc. 

10.  I  served  on  the  Home  Mission  Field  as  a  missionary  three 
years  during  my  time  in  school,  with  marked  success. 


1.  David  Nathaniel  Vassar. 

2.  Dec.  5,  1847,  Bedford  City. 

3.  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  D.  D. 

4.  A.  B.  &  A.  M.,  Colgate,  Hamilton,  N.  Y.— 1877  class.     D. 
D.,  Shaw  University,  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  1892. 

5.  June  21,  1882,  Alice  Walker  Kinckle. 

6.  Louisa  First  Baptist  Church,  32  years. 

7.  About  600. 

8.  About  40  years. 

9.  Moderator  Shiloh  Baptist  Assoc.  2  years ;  Treasurer  For. 
Miss.  Convention,   10  years.     Grand  Chief  Templar  of  Va.     5 
years.     (Good  Templars.) 

10.  Taught  25  years  in  Richmond.     Sent  by  Southern  Baptist 
Foreign  Mission  Convention   (col.)    in   1892  to  Africa  to  over 
look  the  mission  fields. 


1.  Ellis   Watts. 

2.  Sweetbriar,  Amherst,  Va. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  223 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D. 

4.  Richmond     Institute,     Richmond     Theological    Seminary,. 
1875-80,  1891-4. 

5.  1880,  Octavia  Brown,  Richmond,  Va. 

6.  First     Baptist,    Louisa Petersburg,  21   years. 

Present  charge  is  a  new  church. 

7.  

8.  44  years. 

9.  Seven   years   president   General   Assoc.    (col.),    Moderator 
Va.  Lebanon  Baptist  Assoc.  at  present. 

10.  My  present  charge  came  out  of  the  Howard  St.  Church ; 
eleven  years  ago.     Put  up  a  building  at  a  cost  of  $22,000,  pres 
ent  debt  on  building,  $10,000. 


PRESBYTERIAN. 

1.  James  Richard  Barrett. 

2.  Early  60's,  Danville,  Va. 

3.  A.  M.,  S.  T.  B. 

4.  Graduate  of  Hampton,   1879;  of  Lincoln  University,   Pa., 
1887;  and  of  the  Seminary,  1894. 

5.  Widower. 

6.  Central   Pres.  Church,   Lynchburg,   Va.,   11   years;  in  this 
county,  Amelia,  9  years   (3  churches). 

7.  One  has  52,  the  other,  109. 

8.  20  years. 

9.  - 

10.  Teaching  27  years — Primary  to  College  grades.     Founder 
of   Danville   Industrial   High   School. 


1.  William  Edward  Carr. 

2.  Oct.  10,  1854,  Baltimore,  Md. 

3.  A.  M.,  D.  D. 

4.  Graduate  of  College  Dep't,  Lincoln  University,  Pa.,   1877, 
Theological  Department,   1881. 

5.  Dec.  26,  1882,  Ruth  R.  J.  Fisher,  Washington,  D.  C. 

6.  Central  Presbyterian,  Lynchburg,  Va.,  2  years 

Holbrook  St.  Presbyterian,  Danville,  Va.,  23  years  next  August, 


224  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

7.  140. 

8.  33  years. 

9.  Have  represented  my  Presbytery  three  different  times  in 
General  Assembly. 

10.  Have  been  moderator  of  Synod ;  and  moderator  of  Pres 
bytery  several  times. 


1.  Lilburn   Liggins   Downing. 

2.  May  3,  1862,  Lexington,  Va. 

3.  A.  B.,  S.  T.  B.,  A.  M.,  D.  D. 

4.  Lincoln  University,  Pa.,  1884-1894. 

5.  June  10,  1888,  Lottie  J.  Clinton,  daughter  of  Bishop  J.  J. 
Clinton,  A.  M.  E.  Z.  church. 

6.  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  July,  1894,  and  so  for 
twenty  years,  Roanoke,  Va. 

7.  150. 

8.  Twenty  years. 

9.  Grand  Master  of  District  Grand  Lodge,  No.  15,  Virginia, 
4  years.     G.  U.  O.  O.  F.     Serving  fourth  term  as    President 
Patriarchal    Union    covering    Delaware,    Maryland,    D.    C.    and 
Virginia. 

10.  At  present  Chaplain  in  Chief  and  member  of  grand  Staff 
Council    Patriarchies    of    America.     G.  U.  O.  of  O.  F.,  Rank 
Colonel.     Am  and  have  been  for  sixteen  years  the  only  colored 
member  of  Republican  City  Committee.     Deputy  Grand  Master 
M.  W.  Grand  Lodge  of  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  of  Virginia.     The  Pres 
bytery  of  Southern  Va.  honored  me  twice  as  its  moderator,  and 
elected  me  three  times  as  Commissioner  to  the  General  Assem 
bly,  at  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  Warsaw,  Ind.,  and  in  1913  to  the  his 
torical   Assembly  at   Atlanta,   Ga.»     I   was   the   first   permanent 
Sabbath-school  missionary  in  this  state  under  the  Board  of  Pub 
lication  and  S.  S.  work  of  our  General  Assembly. 


1.  James  E.  Harper. 

2.  Jan.  4,  1875,  Abbeville,  S.  C. 

3.  S.  T.  B. 

4.  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  Lincoln  University,  Pa. ;  College  Class,  1895. 
Theology,   1898. 


RELIGIOUS    DJSVI&OPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  225 

5.  1903,  Mary  L.  Baptist,  a  school  teacher  of  West  Chester, 
Pa. 

6.  Athens,  Ohio,   1   year.     Carmel  Presbyterian  church,  Cin 
cinnati,  Ohio.     12  years.     First  Presbyterian   (col.),  Richmond, 
Va.,  2  years. 

7.  121. 

8.  15  years. 

9.  In  demand  for  addresses,  both  political  and   fraternal. 

10.  Organized  and  founded  the  first  and  only  Colored  Presby 
terian  church  in  the  state  of  Ohio. 


1.  John  Grandison  Harris. 

2.  Cumberland   Co.,   Va. 

3.  None. 

4.  Howard   University,   Washington,   D.   C.,   Theological   and 
Literary  Courses.     Oct.,  1879,  to  April,  1886.     (Theol.  3  years, 
Literary  4  years.) 

5.  Nov.  22,  1888,  H.  L.  Peck ;  June  19,  1906,  S.  B.  Hill. 

6.  French    Broad    Presbyterian   church,    Henderson     Co.,     N. 
C.,    1    year Central    Presbyterian    Church,     Peters 
burg,  Va.,  15  years. 

7.  50. 

8.  28  years. 

9.  None. 

10.  Have  been  successful  in  reviving  three  dead  churches.     I 
have  given   and   raised   scholarships    for   the   education   of    128 
boys  and  girls  since  1886. 


1.  William  Henry   Sheppard. 

2.  March  8,   1865,  Waynesboro,  Va. 

3.  D.  D.,  F.  R.  G.  S. 

4.  Hampton    Normal     Institute ;     Stilman   Theological    Semi 
nary,  Tuscaloosa,  Ala. 

5.  Feb.  21,  1894,  Lucy  Jones  Gantt. 

6.  Twenty  years  in  Luebo,  Congo  Free  State,  Central  Africa. 

7.  140. 


226  REUGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

8.  \y2  years  in  Louisville,  Ky. 

9.  - 

10.  "Sent  to  Louisville  by  Ex.  Com.  Home  Missions,  South 
ern   Presbyterian   Church,  to  work   among  his  own   race.     His 
life  as  a  missionary  reads  like  a  romance.     Honored  by  Queen 
Victoria    for   discoveries    made    in    Africa."      Courier   Journal, 
June  22,  1913. 


1.  William  Lawson   Smith. 

2.  Feb.   14,   1849,  Bowling  Green,  Va. 

3.  - 

4.  B.    A.    Collegiate    Department,    Lincoln    University,    Pa., 
1883.     Theology  under  Dr.  Hoge,  Richmond,  Va. 

5.  April,  1890,  Martha  T.  Miles,  public  school  teacher,  Rich 
mond,  Va. 

6.  Mt.     Zion     Presbyterian     Church,     Ashland,      10     years. 

Harper    Memorial    Church,    1    year.      Mt.    Hermon, 
Chula,  Va. 

7.  

8.  21  years. 

9.  &   10.  


EPISCOPAL. 

1.  Samuel  Whittemore  Grice. 

2.  July  8,  1880,  Plantersville,  Georgetown  Co.,  S.  C. 

3.  B.  D. 

4.  Graduated   St.   Augustine's   Collegiate   Course   at   Raleigh, 
N.  C.,   1901.     St.  Augustine's  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute. 
Graduated  from  the  Bishop  Payne  Divinity  School,  Petersburg, 
Va.  1904. 

5.  June  28,  1905,  Susan  M.  Rhone,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

6.  Church    of    the    Epiphany,   Spartanburg,   S.   C. ;   5   years. 
New     Warden    of     Bishop     Payne     Divinity     School,     Peters 
burg,  Va. 

7.  Have  no  regular  church. 

8.  9  years. 

9.  


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  227 

10.  Graduated  as  Valedictorian  of  class.  Secretary  of  the 
Convocation  among  Colored  people  in  South  Carolina,  2  years. 
Now  the  only  colored  Professor  in  the  Divinity  School,  Peters 
burg. 


1.  David  Jonathan  Lee. 

2.  Sept.  15,  1880. 

3.  - 

4.  The  Mico  Training  College,  Jamaica,  B.  W.   I.,   1900-'03. 
Lincoln    University,    111.,    1905.      Bp.     Payne     Divinity     School, 
Petersburg,    1906-'09. 


5. 


6.  Grace  P.  E.  Church,  Norfolk,  Va.,  1909-1914,  and  Tunly 
Chapel,  Berkely,  Va.,  July  1912-1914. 

7.  205. 

8.  6  years. 

9.  &   10.  - 


1.  Joseph  Fenner  Mitchell. 

2.  Jan.  9,  1853,  Franklinton,  N.  C. 

3.  

4.  Christian    College,    Franklinton,    N.    C.,    1879-1882.     The 
Bishop  Payne  Divinity   School,   P.   E.   Church,   1886-1889,   Pe 
tersburg,  Va. 

5.  June  7,  1874,  S.  A.  Winston. 

6.  St.  Stephen's  Church,  Petersburg,  Va.     1886-1897.     .     .     . 
Alexandria,  Va.,  7  years. 

7.  31. 

8.  25  years. 

9.  Preached  baccalaureate  sermon  to  class   1892  of  the   Va. 
N.  &  C.  L.  I. 

10.  -  -  Presbyter  of  the  church. 


1.  Sandy  Alonzo   Morgan. 

2.  July   15,   1887,   Richmond,  Va. 

3.  


228  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

4.  St.    Paul's    School,   Lawrenceville,   Va.,    1903-'05.      Bishop 
Payne  Divinity  School,  Petersburg,  Va.,   1905-'09. 

5.  Feb.  2,  1911,  Mary  E.  Smith. 

6.  St.    Margaret's,    Orange,    Va.,    1    year Ports 
mouth,  Va. 

7.  80. 

8.  5  years. 

9.  &  10.  No. 


1.  James   Solomon  Russell. 

2.  Dec.  20,  1857,  Palmer's  Springs,  Va. 

3.  - 

4.  Hampton    Normal    and    Agricultural    Institute,    Hampton,. 
Va.,  1874-5  and  1877-8.     St.  Stephen's  Normal  School  and  the 
Branch     Theological     School     of     Virginia,     Petersburg,    Va., 
1878-'82. 

5.  Dec.  20,  1882,  Virginia  M.  Morgan,  Petersburg,  Va. 

6.  St.    Paul's    Church,    Lawrenceville,    since     1882.      General 
missionary  in  Brunswick  and  Mecklenburg  counties. 

7.  220. 

8.  Since  March  16,  1882. 

9.  Ordained  Deacon  March  9,  1882,  advanced  to  the  Priest 
hood  Feb.  9,  1887,  appointed  Archdeacon  for  colored  work  in 
the  Diocese  of  Southern  Virginia  in  1893. 

10.  Founder   and  principal   of    St.    Paul   Normal   and    Indus 
trial  School. 


1.  Charles  Louis  Somers. 

2.  Jan.  3,  1875,  Washington,  D.  C. 

3.  None. 

4.  St.   Paul   Normal  and   Industrial   School,    1896-'97.     How 
ard    University     1897-1901.      Bishop     Payne     Divinity     School, 
1901-'04. 

5.  Dec.  27,  1904,  Frances  Ellen  Harper. 

6.  Meade    Memorial    Chapel,    Alexandria,    Va.,    3    months. 
St.  Paul's  Church,  Gordonsville,  2  months.     Richmond,  Va. 

7.  160. 

8.  10  vears. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  229 

9.  On  Board  of  Trustees  Negro  Reformatory  Association  of 
Va.     President  Interdenominational  Ministerial  Union  of  Rich 
mond,  Va. 

10.  I  had  to  work  to  support  myself  in  school  with  only  the 
assistance  of  a  widowed  mother. 


AFRICAN   METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

1.  Israel  Lafayette  Butt. 

2.  May  3,  1846,  Norfolk  Co.,  Va. 

3.  D.  D. 

4.  Richmond  Institute,   1878-1880.     Hampton   Institute,  The 
ological     Department,      1883-1887.        Correspondence     Course, 
Payne  Seminary,  Selma,  Ala.,  5  years. 

5.  May  29,  1911,  Marie  Church,  Eastville,  Va.  (second  wife). 

6.  St.    James     Mission,     Norfolk,   Va.,   one   year 

Allen  Chapel,  one  year,  present  charge. 

7.-  330. 

8.  37  years. 

9.  Delegate   to   General   Conference,    1900,    Columbus,    Ohio; 
1904,    Chicago.      Justice   of    the    Peace,   6   years,    Constable,    3 
years,   Norfolk  Co. 

10.  


1.  Norman  Wesley  Brown. 

2.  Oct.  20,  1875,  High  Point,  Md. 

3.  - 

4.  Morgan   College,   Balto.,   Md. ;  Howard  University,  Wash 
ington,  D.  C.,  Classes  of  1896  and  1900. 

5.  Nov.  7,  1900,  Sophia  Banks. 

6.  Patuxtant,  Md.,  2  years Newport  News,  Va., 

4  years. 

7.  385. 

8.  19  years. 

9.  President   Norfolk   A.    M.    E.    Preachers'    Meeting;     Pres. 
Negro    Business    League,    Newport    News ;   member    Ex.    Com. 
Kittrell   College,   Kittrell,   N.   C. ;   Delegate   to    International   C. 
E.   Conventions   Atlantic   City  and   Los   Angeles.     Alt.   Del.   to 


230  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    NEGRO 

Gen.  Conf.  A.  M.  E.  church  in  1912.     Chm'n  Com.  on  Elders' 
Orders,  Va.  Conf.  A.  M.  E.  church. 

10.  Mason,  Odd  Fellow,  and  Pythian.  Wrote  thesis  on  "Im 
mortality  of  the  Soul"  and  Morris  Brown  College,  Atlanta, 
Ga.,  conferred  title  of  D.  D.  on  me. 


1.  Oscar  Theodore  Day. 

2.  July  29,  1865,  East  Liberty,  Ohio. 

3.  D.  D. 

4.  Public   and   High   schools,   Cincinnati,   Ohio;   Correspond 
ence  Course  in  Theology,  Howard  University. 

5.  July  6,   1893,  Jennie  Elnora  Jackson,  Xenia,  Ohio. 

6.  Sawyer    Chapel,    Elizabeth    City,    N.    C now 

Presiding  Elder,  Richmond  District.     Va.   Annual  Conference. 

7.  

8.  17  years. 

9.  


10.  Taught  eight  years  in  public  schools  of  Ohio. 


1.  Marion  E.  Davis. 

2.  Jan.  19,  1864,  Ebenezer,  Miss. 

3.  B.  D.,  D.  D. 

4.  Waldern  University,   Nashville,  Tenn.,   1882-'86;   Normal, 
University,    Wilber force,    Ohio,    1888-'94,    College    Preparatory 
and  Theological  Courses,  graduating  1894. 

5.  Oct.  27,  1897,  Cora  L.  Flagg. 

6.  Springfield,    Ohio,   4  years Portsmouth,   Va., 

4  years. 

7.  1186. 

8.  24  years. 

9.  President,    Stringer    Academy,    Friars    Point,    Miss.,    and 
Ward  Academy,  Natchez,  Miss. 

10.  Have  cleared  several  churches  of   debt,  and  managed  a 
$5,000  campaign  for  the  Old  Folks  Home. 


1.  Edward   Hughes   Hunter. 

2.  Nov.  13,  1865,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO  231 

3.  A.  B.,  LL.  B.,  LL.  M.,1  D.  D. 

4.  Public    schools,   Raleigh ;    Literary   and   Classical    Courses, 
Lincoln   Univ.,   Pa.,    1883-'85 ;    Law    Course,    Howard    Univ., 
Washington,  D.  C.,  1892,  1893,  1896;  Theology,  Howard  Univ., 
1902-3. 

5.  1889,  Alary  L.  Russell;  1903,  Jennie  M.  Spears,  Washing 
ton,  D.  C. 

6.  A.  M.  E.  Church,  Sandy  Springs,  Md.,  one  year 

St.  John's  Norfolk,  Va.   (present  pastorate),  three  years. 

7.  About  1425. 

8.  About  12  years. 

9.  Accepted  as  the  logical  standard  bearer  in  efforts  of  Va. 
Methodists  to  secure  official  recognition.     Served  in  Washing 
ton,   D.   C.,   as   Sunday-school  superintendent,   president   Y.    P. 
S.  C.  E. ;  secretary  of  Trustee  Board,  etc. 

10.  "Spent    19   years    in   U.    S.    Government   service;   expert 
•examiner  .of  land  claims  for  the  Government.     Member  of  the 
bar  of  District  of  Columbia.     Fine  business  record  and  standing 
in   Raleigh,   Washington,   Richmond  and   Norfolk.     A   success 
ful  teacher  in  North  Carolina."     Rev.  S.  S.  Morrison. 


1.  George   D.   Jimmerson. 

2.  Oct.  4,  1849,  Salem,  Va. 

3.  D.  D. 

4.  Colver    (now  Virginia  Union  University),   1869  and  70. 

5.  July  4,   1871,  Emma  S.  Ashby. 

6.  Prospect,    Prince   Ed.    Co.,   Va.,    1    year Em 
manuel  A.  M.  E.  Church,  Portsmouth,  Va.,  4  years.     Presiding 
Elder  13  years. 

7.  3,000  members   in   District. 

8.  43  years. 

9.  None. 

10.  I  was  a  slave. 


1.  Samuel  Solomon  Morris. 

2.  Sept.  2,  1878,  Portsmouth,  Va. 

3.  A.  B.,  B.  D. 


232  RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    NEGRO 

4.  Morris   Brown   College,   Atlanta,   Ga.,    1902-'05 ;   Gammon 
Theo.  Seminary,  Atlanta,  Ga.,   1899-1902. 

5.  April   4,    1912,    Mary    Henrietta    Lawson,     Danville,     Va., 
teacher  and  State  Normal  Graduate. 

6.'  West  End,  Atlanta,  Ga.,   1901 -'03 Richmond, 

Va.,  Third  Street,  from  1911  to  date. 

7.  400. 

8.  13  years. 

9.  Director  Grand  Fountain   United  Order  True  Reformers, 
Member  Grand  Lodge  Masons  of  Va. 

10.  Supt.   Ind.  Dept.   Morris  Brown  College,   1903-05.     State 
Supt.  Va.     Allen  C.  E.  League,  Member  Gen.  Conf.  A.  M.  E. 
Church   1912.     Member  Miss.  Board  A.   M.  E.   Church.     Pur 
suing  Post  Graduate  course  for  Ph.  D.  degree,  Va.  Union  Uni 
versity. 


1.  Alfred  J.  Nottingham. 

2.  Aug.  18,  1868,  Eastville,  Va. 

3.  D.  D. 

4.  Hampton   Institute,   May,   1891.     Theological   Correspond 
ence  Course,  Morris  Brown  College,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  1908. 

5.  Sept.  6,  1893,  Mattie  J.  C.  Robins,  Eastville,  Va. 

6.  Mt.  Zion  A.  M.  E.  Church,  Norfolk  Co.,  3  years.     .     .     . 
Hampton,  3  years. 

7.  200. 

8.  18  years. 

9.  Secretary  A.   M.  E.   Conference,  8  years;  member  A.   M. 
E.  Gen.  Conf.,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  1912,  and  First  Asst.  Record 
ing  Sec. 

10.  


1.  James  Woods  Sanders. 

2.  Near  Nashville,  Tenn. 

3.  D.  D. 

4.  Kittrell  College,  Kittrell,  N.  C. 

5.  Oct.,   1899,  Corintha  May  Bolclen. 

6.  Colorado   Springs,    1885 (Preached   in    North 


RELIGIOUS    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE)    NKGRO  233 

Missouri,  Kansas  and  Colorado  Conferences.)    Brown's  A.   M. 
E.  Church,  Smithfield,  Va.,  since  1910. 

7.  250. 

8.  29  years. 

9.  Trustee  Wilberforce  University,  Ohio. 

10.  Have  added  125  members  to  my  present  church.     Have 
mission  attached. 


1.  George  Claudius  Taylor. 

2.  July  12,  1862,  Georgia. 

3.  D.  D. 

4.  Payne    College,    Augusta,    Ga.,    finished     1888 ;     Gammon 
Theological   Seminary,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  finished   1892. 

5.  Widower. 

6.  A.  M.  E.  Church,  Athens,  Ga.,  3  years Oce- 

ana,  Va.     (present  charge)   three  years. 

7.  560. 

8.  26  years. 

9.  Royal    High    Priest,     Impr'd   Ancient    Order    Children   of 
Israel    (a  benevolent  institution),  with   19,000  members. 

10.  Have  been  called  the  church  builder  and  money  raiser. 


1.  John  Chambers  Williams. 

2.  July  9,   1853,  Pittsborough,  N.  C. 

3.  B.  D. 

4.  Shaw  University,  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  1878  and  1879.     Howard 
University,  Washington,  D.  C.,  1880  and  1883. 

5.  April  23,   1885,  J.  R.   St.  Clair,  Wytheville,  Va. ;   Nov.  3, 
1897,  Carrie  G.  Johnston,  Wytheville,  Va. 

'   6.  Danville   Mission,   one   year Presiding   Elder, 

Norfolk  District,  five  years. 

7.  3301    members  in    District. 

8.  38  years. 

9.  - 

10.  Founder  and   Chief    Shepherd   of   the   Christian   Helping 
Hand  Association  of  the  World,  incorporated   1905. 


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